Court enters permanent injunction against juice distributorCourt enters permanent injunction against juice distributor

A distributor of juice products has agreed to settle a complaint brought by the federal government related to food safety.

Josh Long, Associate editorial director, SupplySide Supplement Journal

January 19, 2021

3 Min Read
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A company in the Northwest is the subject of a permanent injunction after the federal government alleged the business and its owner ran afoul of food safety standards and “processed juice under grossly insanitary conditions,” according to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ).

Sunnyside, Washington-based Valley Processing Inc. and its owner and president, Mary Ann Bliesner, agreed to settle the government’s complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Washington, DOJ announced Jan. 15 in a news release. The complaint alleged the defendants distributed adulterated apple, pear and grape juice products, in violation of the Federal, Food, Drug & Cosmetic Act (FD&C). 

Under a consent decree of permanent injunction entered by U.S. District Judge Stanley A. Bastian, Valley Processing cannot process, hold or distribute FDA-regulated products unless it completes corrective actions and permits FDA to inspect its facilities and procedures, FDA stated in a separate press release.

“The purity and security of harvested and processed foods are matters of paramount importance to our citizen consumers, particularly during unsettled times,” U.S. Attorney William Hyslop for the Eastern District of Washington said in a statement. “The Justice Department and our FDA partners work hard to ensure compliance with food processing safety and purity standards. We support these efforts, which are essential to promoting confidence in Washington’s and our nation’s food sources.”

The defendants represented they are no longer involved in processing, preparing, packing or distributing any type of food, DOJ said. They must destroy any food remaining in their possession, including any juice products, and they are prohibited from violating the FD&C, the government agency added.

Lillian Hardy, a lawyer representing the defendants, said they "intend to fully comply with the terms of the consent decree." Valley Processing has liquidated its assets while Bliesner has permanently left the juice industry, added Hardy, a partner in Washington, D.C., with the law firm Hogan Lovells. 

According to DOJ’s complaint, FDA inspections revealed the defendants’ juice products contained potentially harmful toxins, including inorganic arsenic and patulin. FDA discovered the defendants failed to analyze or investigate data for their raw fruit suppliers, as the law required, to ascertain the origin of the toxins.

In a 2016 warning letter addressed to Bliesner, FDA stated an inspection that began in December 2015 “revealed serious violations” of juice Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) and Current Good Manufacturing Practice (CGMP) regulations for food.

Valley Processing also stored in covered barrels grape juice concentrate that was several years old and found to be contaminated with filth and mold, but the defendants combined the older juice with new lots and distributed the blend to consumers and schools, DOJ’s complaint alleged. Although the defendants promised to stop using the old juice, a subsequent FDA inspection in 2019 revealed they continued to blend the old and new juices, according to DOJ.

While DOJ said Valley Processing previously "supplied millions of juice servings used in school lunch programs," Hardy described the government's representations as "misleading."

"Valley Processing did not sell juice directly to consumers or to the USDA," the attorney said in an emailed statement. "Valley Processing sold product to companies who sell juice to customers after additional processing. The government’s continued linking of the Valley Processing product with juice sold into the school lunch program is creating undue alarm when the facts demonstrate the product sold to consumers that contained juice produced by Valley Processing complied with the government guidance for patulin and inorganic arsenic and is fit for human consumption."

About the Author

Josh Long

Associate editorial director, SupplySide Supplement Journal, Informa Markets Health and Nutrition

Josh Long directs the online news, feature and op-ed coverage at SupplySide Supplement Journal (formerly known as Natural Products Insider), which targets the health and wellness industry. He has been reporting on developments in the dietary supplement industry for over a decade, with a focus on regulatory issues, including at the Food and Drug Administration.

He has moderated and/or presented at industry trade shows, including SupplySide EastSupplySide WestNatural Products Expo WestNBJ Summit and the annual Dietary Supplement Regulatory Summit.

Connect with Josh on LinkedIn and ping him with story ideas at [email protected]

Education and previous experience

Josh majored in journalism and graduated from Arizona State University the same year "Jake the Snake" Plummer led the Sun Devils to the Rose Bowl against the Ohio State Buckeyes. He also holds a J.D. from the University of Wyoming College of Law, was admitted in 2008 to practice law in the state of Colorado and spent a year clerking for a state district court judge.

Over more than a quarter century, he’s written on various topics for newspapers and business-to-business publications – from the Yavapai in Arizona and a controversial plan for a nuclear-waste incinerator in Idaho to nuanced issues, including FDA enforcement of the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994 (DSHEA).

Since the late 1990s, his articles have been published in a variety of media, including but not limited to, the Cape Cod Times (in Massachusetts), Sedona Red Rock News (in Arizona), Denver Post (in Colorado), Casper Star-Tribune (in Wyoming), now-defunct Jackson Hole Guide (in Wyoming), Colorado Lawyer (published by the Colorado Bar Association) and Nutrition Business Journal.

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