U.S. flag An official website of the United States government

On Oct. 1, 2024, the FDA began implementing a reorganization impacting many parts of the agency. We are in the process of updating FDA.gov content to reflect these changes.

U.S. Food and Drug Administration
  1. Home
  2. Inspections, Compliance, Enforcement, and Criminal Investigations
  3. Compliance Actions and Activities
  4. Warning Letters
  5. A. I. Foods Corporation - 523690 - 05/23/2017
  1. Warning Letters

WARNING LETTER

A. I. Foods Corporation MARCS-CMS 523690 —

Delivery Method:
UPS
Recipient:
Recipient Name
Clarissa A. Takawaka
A. I. Foods Corporation

1700 N. Soto Street
Los Angeles, CA 90033
United States

Issuing Office:
Los Angeles District Office

United States

 

  

Black HHS-Blue FDA Logo

 

 

 
Los Angeles District
19701 Fairchild, Irvine CA 92612-2506
Telephone: 949-608-2900
Fax: 949-608-4417 

 

WARNING LETTER
WL# 32-17 
 
VIA UNITED PARCEL SERVICE
 
May 23, 2017
 
Clarissa A. Takawaka, President
A.I. Foods Corporation
1700 N. Soto Street
Los Angeles, CA 90033
 
 
Dear Ms. Takakawa:
 
We inspected your seafood importer establishment, located at 1700 N. Soto Street on April 5, 2017. 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 for 21 CFR Part 123, your fish sauce and frozen plain deboned milkfish are adulterated under Section 402(a)(4)of the Act (21 U.S.C. § 342(a)(4)), in that they have been prepared, packed, or held under insanitary conditions whereby they 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 violations were as follows:
 
•  You did not comply with 21 CFR 123.12(a)(2) in that you do not have or have not implemented written verification procedures, product specifications, and an affirmative step for ensuring that fish and fishery products you import are processed in compliance with the Seafood HACCP regulation. Specifically, you failed to provide adequate product specifications and an affirmative step for the following products:
 
o   Fish Sauce manufactured by (b)(4)
o   Frozen Plain Deboned Milkfish manufactured by (b)(4)
 
We may take further action if you do not promptly correct these violations. 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 these violations. You should include in your response documentation, such as 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.
 
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 theAct and all applicable regulations for the fish or fishery products that you import into the United States.
 
Please send your reply to:
 
Food and Drug Administration
Attention: Daniel Solis, Director
Import Operations Branch
Los Angeles District
One World Trade Center, Suite 300
Long Beach, CA 90831
 
If  you  have  any questions  regarding this  letter,  please  contact  Comyar  Shoghi, Acting  Compliance Officer, at (562) 256-9280.
  
Sincerely,
/S/ 
CDR Steven E. Porter Jr.
Los Angeles District Director
Back to Top