DANVILLE, Ill. (WAND) — A letter from the Food and Drug Administration to the CEO of PepsiCo shows how the Danville Quaker Oats plant could have been contaminated years before the December 2023 product recall.
The Warning Letter, sent to Ramon Laguarta, details results from inspections performed at the now shuttered facility at 1703 E. Voorhees St.
From Dec. 19, 2023 through Feb. 2, 2024, FDA investigators observed "serious violations of the Current Good Manufacturing Practice, Hazard Analysis, and Risk-Based Preventive Controls for Human Food regulation." The inspection was triggered by a recall of granola bars and cereals on Dec. 15, 2023 due to possible contamination with Salmonella Cubana.
The facility closure was announced on April 3, 2024. A statement from Quaker said that the company performed a review after the pause in production and determined that "meeting our future manufacturing needs would require an extended closure for enhancements and modernization." Over 500 employees were laid off.
Samples taken from the production floor in December tested positive for Salmonella. According to the FDA letter, a strain of Salmonella may have survived in the plant since 2020.
The agency also advised caution about moving equipment or utensils from the Danville plant to other facilities.
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