WARNING LETTER
First Choice E Trading Corp. MARCS-CMS 541591 —
- Product:
- Food & Beverages
Seafood/Seafood Product
- Recipient:
-
Recipient NameMs. Jin Chung
- First Choice E Trading Corp.
- First Choice E Trading Corp.
161-23 Crocheron Avenue
Flushing, NY 11358
United States
- Issuing Office:
- New York District Office
United States
WARNING LETTER
CMS # 541591
VIA UNITED PARCEL SERVICE
DELIVERY SIGNATURE REQUEST
November 22, 2017
Ms. Jin Chung, President
First Choice E Trading Corp.
161-23 Crocheron Avenue
Flushing, NY 11358
Dear Ms. Chung,
On June 8, 2017, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) inspected your seafood importer establishment, First Choice E Trading Corp., located at 161-23 Crocheron Avenue, Flushing, NY 11358. We found that you have serious violations of the seafood Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) regulation, Title 21, Code of Federal Regulations, Part 123 (21 CFR Part 123). The specific requirements for imported fish and fishery products are set out in 21 CFR 123.12. As an importer of fish or fishery products, you must operate in accordance with the requirements of Part 123. In accordance with 21 CFR 123.12(d), there must be evidence that all fish and fishery products offered for entry into the United States have been processed under conditions that comply with 21 CFR Part 123. If assurances do not exist that the imported fish or fishery product has been processed under conditions that are equivalent to those required of domestic processors under 21 CFR Part 123, the fish or fishery products will appear to be adulterated under Section 402(a)(4) of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (the Act), 21 U.S.C. § 342(a)(4) and will be denied entry. Because our inspection identified serious violations of 21 CFR Part 123, your frozen bigeye tuna, Thunnus obesus, manufactured by (b)(4), is adulterated under Section 402(a)(4) of the Act (21 U.S.C. § 342(a)(4)) in that it may have been prepared, packed, or held under insanitary conditions whereby it may have been rendered injurious to health. You may find the Act, the seafood HACCP regulation and the Fish and Fisheries Products Hazards & Controls Guidance through links in FDA's home page at www.fda.gov.
Your significant violation was as follows:
You must implement an affirmative step which ensures that the fish and fishery product(s) you import are processed in accordance with the seafood HACCP Regulation, to comply with 21 CFR 123.12(a)(2)(ii).
However, your firm did not perform an affirmative step for your frozen bigeye tuna, Thunnus obesus, manufactured by (b)(4).
We have reviewed your response to the FDA 483 issued to your firm on June 8, 2017. Your response is not adequate because the documentation submitted with your response, including the certificates, do not provide assurance that the fishery products you import are processed in accordance with the requirements of the U.S. FDA seafood HACCP regulation, 21 CFR Part 123.
We may take further action if you do not promptly correct this violation. For instance, we may take further action to refuse admission of your imported fish or fishery products under Section 801(a) of the Act (21 U.S.C. § 381(a)), including placing them on "detention without physical examination," seize your product(s) and/or enjoin your firm from further violating the Act.
You should respond in writing within fifteen (15) working days from your receipt of this letter. Your response should outline the specific things you are doing to correct this violation. You should include in your response documentation, such as corrected HACCP and importer verification records and records that document the performance and results of your firm’s affirmative steps, or other useful information that would assist us in evaluating your corrections. If you cannot complete all corrections before you respond, you should explain the reason for your delay and state when you will correct any remaining violations.
Section 743 of the Act (21 U.S.C. § 379j-31) authorizes FDA to assess and collect fees to cover FDA’s costs for certain activities, including re-inspection-related costs. A re-inspection is one or more inspections conducted subsequent to an inspection that identified noncompliance materially related to a food safety requirement of the Act, specifically to determine whether compliance has been achieved. Re-inspection- related costs means all expenses, including administrative expenses, incurred in connection with FDA’s arranging, conducting, and evaluating the results of the re-inspection and assessing and collecting the re- inspection fees (21 U.S.C. § 379j-31(a)(2)(B)). FDA will assess and collect fees for re-inspection-related costs from the responsible party for the domestic facility. The inspection noted in this letter identified noncompliance materially related to a food safety requirement of the Act. Accordingly, FDA may assess fees to cover any re-inspection-related costs.
This letter may not list all the violations at your facility. You are responsible for ensuring that your seafood importer establishment operates in compliance with the Act and the seafood HACCP regulation (21 CFR Part 123). You also have a responsibility to use procedures to prevent further violations of the Act and all applicable regulations for the fish or fishery products that you import into the United States.
Please send your reply to the Food and Drug Administration, 158-15 Liberty Ave., Jamaica, NY 11433, Attention: Joseph Sullivan, Compliance Officer. If you have questions regarding any issues in this letter, please contact Joseph Sullivan at 718-662-5703.
Sincerely,
/S/
Matthew R. Palo
Lieutenant Commander, U.S. Public Health Service
Acting Program Division Director
Office of Enforcement and Import Operations
Division of Northeast Imports
Division of Northeast Imports