The FDA warned Kellogg Co that they found the illness-causing bacterium listeria monocytogenes while inspecting a company cookie plant in Augusta, Georgia.
In a letter dated June 7, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said it found “significant violations of the Current Good Manufacturing Practice (CGMP) regulations for food manufacturers”. The CGMP regulations describe the methods, equipment, facilities and controls for making processed food.
Kellogg makes a variety of Keebler and Famous Amos cookies at the factory and says it has “undertaken a number of aggressive actions to address (the FDA’s) concerns, including comprehensive cleaning and extensive testing.”
Based on the findings of the inspection, FDA said it had “determined that the foods manufactured at your facility are adulterated … in that they have been prepared, packed, or held under insanitary conditions whereby they may have become contaminated with filth, or whereby they may have been rendered injurious to health.”
FDA said Kellogg had 15 working days following receipt of the letter to outline what it planned to do to correct the violations.