DARLINGTON - One month after having an estimated $280,000 of its cheese products seized, Brunkow Cheese of Wisconsin, Inc. still doesn't know what the U. S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will do next, said the company's spokesman, Joe Burns.
The FDA isn't publicly commenting.
"The only thing I can confirm with you is that the case is still open. I cannot comment on the details at this time," said Tamara N. Ward, of the FDA's Silver Spring, Md.-based public affairs office.
The product seizure on May 17 and 18 did not force a shutdown of the plant. Burns, a cheesemaker at the facility for six years, said the company has continued the same volume of production.
"We were never closed," said Burns. "They just seized the products being held."
Burns said Brunkow made facility upgrades, after a February FDA inspection raised issues related to building defects and rodent infestation.
He would not confirm the value of the goods seized. The FDA estimated the value of the products at about $280,000.
The seizure came after an FDA follow-up investigation April 22 found Brunkow Cheese had corrected some violations from an earlier inspection, including major repairs to the roof, doors and exterior walls.
But the problem of rodent contamination had yet to be resolved, according the complaint: "Brunkow Cheese had not removed a rodent carcass that the FDA investigator had observed during the February 2011 inspection, had not repaired a hole that a rodent apparently gnawed through a door, and continued to store trash indoors, where it could attract pests."
The FDA filed the complaint May 13 in U. S. District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin, requesting the seizure of all food products in permeable containers "located anywhere on the premises of Brunkow Cheese," which had been shipped or manufactured from ingredients that had been used in interstate commerce. The FDA acts in cases of interstate commerce.
The U. S. District Court unsealed the case May 20, two days after U. S. Marshals seized the cheese.
A comprehensive FDA inspection conducted from Feb. 14 through Feb. 25 revealed "evidence of widespread rodent infestation," including rodent droppings and "several rodent-gnawed containers of food," according to the court complaint.
Brunkow Cheese, in rural Darlington, is still in business, operating as a cooperative with about 30 southwestern Wisconsin dairy farmers.
The co-op has been run by the Geissbuhler family since 1929. The co-op began in 1899.
The FDA isn't publicly commenting.
"The only thing I can confirm with you is that the case is still open. I cannot comment on the details at this time," said Tamara N. Ward, of the FDA's Silver Spring, Md.-based public affairs office.
The product seizure on May 17 and 18 did not force a shutdown of the plant. Burns, a cheesemaker at the facility for six years, said the company has continued the same volume of production.
"We were never closed," said Burns. "They just seized the products being held."
Burns said Brunkow made facility upgrades, after a February FDA inspection raised issues related to building defects and rodent infestation.
He would not confirm the value of the goods seized. The FDA estimated the value of the products at about $280,000.
The seizure came after an FDA follow-up investigation April 22 found Brunkow Cheese had corrected some violations from an earlier inspection, including major repairs to the roof, doors and exterior walls.
But the problem of rodent contamination had yet to be resolved, according the complaint: "Brunkow Cheese had not removed a rodent carcass that the FDA investigator had observed during the February 2011 inspection, had not repaired a hole that a rodent apparently gnawed through a door, and continued to store trash indoors, where it could attract pests."
The FDA filed the complaint May 13 in U. S. District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin, requesting the seizure of all food products in permeable containers "located anywhere on the premises of Brunkow Cheese," which had been shipped or manufactured from ingredients that had been used in interstate commerce. The FDA acts in cases of interstate commerce.
The U. S. District Court unsealed the case May 20, two days after U. S. Marshals seized the cheese.
A comprehensive FDA inspection conducted from Feb. 14 through Feb. 25 revealed "evidence of widespread rodent infestation," including rodent droppings and "several rodent-gnawed containers of food," according to the court complaint.
Brunkow Cheese, in rural Darlington, is still in business, operating as a cooperative with about 30 southwestern Wisconsin dairy farmers.
The co-op has been run by the Geissbuhler family since 1929. The co-op began in 1899.