Marshals seize infested Ga. food warehouse
U.S. Marshals, acting under a court order sought by the Food and Drug Administration, on Wednesday seized an estimated $700,000 worth of rice and other packaged food products from a rodent-infested warehouse in East Point, Ga.
The FDA-regulated food products were stored in a warehouse operated by Sun Hong Kai Holding Inc., which does business as United Food Service.
The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia issued a warrant for the seizure of all FDA-regulated food stored in the warehouse in permeable containers. The federal government's complaint alleges that the products have been held under unsanitary conditions and may have become contaminated with filth.
An FDA inspection of United Food Service's facility between Sept. 22 and Oct. 1, revealed 'an active and widespread rodent infestation, including live and dead rodents within the warehouse where food products are stored,' according to the complaint.
FDA laboratory analyses of samples collected during the inspection confirmed the investigators' observations. FDA investigators also found structural defects making the facility accessible to rodents.