FDA Food-Safety Alert: Green Hope Agrees to Cease Operations

WASHINGTONGreen Hope LLC, a distributor and manufacturer of organic tofu, soy milk and other products, has agreed to cease operations under a consent decree for violations of food-safety regulations, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced Friday.

A federal judge, David M. Lawson, signed the decree last month after several FDA inspectors found that Green Hopea Michigan-based company doing business as Rosewood Productswas operating a facility with unsanitary conditions, according to the food safety agency. In a May 6, 2011 letter addressed to Green Hope Owner Phil G. Ye, FDA warned the company it was violating Current Good Manufacturing Practices (CGMPs), potentially subjecting food to contamination.

"No illnesses have been reported to date implicating Rosewood Products food," FDA said in statement.

FDA revealed Green Hope and its owner have agreed to cease operations until the agency approves measures that will take the company into full compliance with federal law and regulations. Green Hope must hire an independent expert to develop a written sanitation control program and an employee training program. The company also must assign an employee to implement and maintain the sanitation control program, FDA observed.

Ye was not immediately available Friday to comment on the consent decree.

Consumers expect their foods to be safe," said Melinda K. Plaisier, FDA's acting associate commissioner for regulatory affairs. When foods are not manufactured under sanitary conditions, those who prepare, process and distribute those foods should expect FDA enforcement action."

FDA said it has the right to inspect Green Hope's facility to verify it is meeting the requirements. The agency further noted the company will pay for all costs of FDA supervision, inspections, analyses, examinations and reviews that are connected to the consent decree.