La Fiesta Food Products, Inc. – FDA Warning Letter, Feb 24, 2011

On June 17, 2011, the FDA issued a Warning Letter to La Fiesta Food Products, Inc. following an inspection from February 2-24, 2011, at their San Jose, CA seafood repackaging facility. The inspection revealed serious violations of the seafood Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) regulation (21 CFR Part 123), rendering their dried shrimp products, including shredded and whole shrimp, adulterated under Section 402(a)(4) of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (the Act).

Key violations include: 1. **Lack of HACCP Plan:** The firm failed to have a HACCP plan for dried shrimp products to control the food safety hazard of undeclared sulfites, despite FDA analysis finding 651-685 ppm of sulfites in shredded shrimp. 2. **Inadequate Sanitation Records:** The firm did not maintain records of monitoring sanitation conditions and practices as required by 21 CFR 123.11(c).

Additionally, several misbranding violations were identified under Section 403 of the Act and 21 CFR Part 101: 3. **Undeclared Ingredients:** Mi Pueblo and La Fiesta brand shrimp products failed to declare all ingredients (e.g., salt) and undeclared sulfites (651-685 ppm)