The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently issued a letter to Whole Foods for having “serious violations” of health code.
In a Whole Foods storefront in Massachusetts, the FDA discovered that the food handling techniques and food storage conditions were below standard. The store supported “insanitary conditions whereby [its food] may have been contaminated with filth or rendered injurious to health,” the FDA wrote in its letter.
Some employees were caught handling exposed food products without having washed their hands or changed to a new set of gloves after they cleaned their work area. Some of these food handling areas were also located in places of the store where condensed water from joints in the ceiling “dripp[ed] onto the surface below.” Furthermore, when the FDA more closely inspected these work surfaces, they discovered that the surface was contaminated with the bacteria Listeria welshimeri.
Listeria welshimeri cannot cause disease, but its presence makes it possible for other strains of the bacteria – like the listeria-causing Listeria monocytogenes – to also be present. This is what the FDA ultimately targeted in its letter.
“Conditions exist in and on your equipment…would support the presence and growth of Listeria monocytogenes and indicate that your cleaning and sanitation practices may not be adequate,” the FDA wrote. They then suggested that Whole Foods pay closer attention to maintaining their “environmental monitoring program” in order to “verify the adequacy of your cleaning and sanitation operation.”
The FDA conducted these store investigations back in February 2016. Global vice president of operations for Whole Foods Market, Ken Meyer, said he and the company were “honestly surprised” that the FDA issued a public letter to them, four months after the initial visit. “We’ve been in close contact with the FDA,” Meyer said in a statement, “[we’ve] opened our doors to inspectors regularly since February and worked with them to address every issue brought to our attention.”
Whether Whole Foods has actually addressed the FDA’s concerns is uncertain. The decision to continue shopping at this grocery store chain, however, is up to you.
