According to documents reviewed by Food Safety News, officials from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) initially sought access to Dixie Dew’s manufacturing facilities on March 3. However, company representatives denied them entry, prompting the FDA to issue a formal demand for the manufacturer to provide facility records and grant inspectors access. Upon inspection, the officials discovered numerous violations, including malfunctioning temperature controls, an infestation of flies and larvae, liquid dripping from the ceiling onto production areas, and food-making equipment stored on filthy floors. Additionally, supervisors reported that production machines had not been cleaned since 2015 and that some equipment had been broken for 15 years.
The outbreak linked to contaminated soy paste produced by Dixie Dew has resulted in 29 illnesses across twelve states. SoyNut Butter Co., which incorporated the paste into its I.M. Healthy soy nut butters and certain granola products, issued a recall shortly after the inspection, subsequently expanding it twice. These products were distributed to retail outlets, schools, and daycare centers, but the FDA did not disclose which locations sold or distributed them. Moreover, the agency did not identify Dixie Dew as the manufacturer of the contaminated soy paste until compelled to do so by the Seattle law firm Marler Clark, which included the company in a civil lawsuit.
Unlike other food safety agencies, such as the Food Safety and Inspection Service, which openly name retailers and manufacturers in their recall notices, the FDA maintains a policy that prevents it from revealing trade secrets. Critics argue that this obscure interpretation of the law prioritizes business interests over public safety. Richard Raymond, who advocated for enhanced recall transparency as the undersecretary of agriculture for food safety under President George W. Bush, stated that the FDA has yielded to pressure from the food industry. “I suspect they don’t want that fight themselves,” he recently commented to The Washington Post.
Meanwhile, consumers remain uninformed and can only hope that a diligent company will notify them if they have purchased contaminated products. While retailers and manufacturers do not intend for their products to harm anyone, any lack of disclosure can tarnish their reputation at a time when consumers increasingly demand transparency. This lack of communication also poses a significant risk to public health.
It is perplexing how conditions at Dixie Dew deteriorated to such an extent and remained so for an extended period. The landscape of food safety has transformed dramatically in recent years, with inspectors becoming more vigilant following a salmonella outbreak that resulted in nine deaths and lengthy prison sentences for executives at the Peanut Corporation of America plant, as well as a massive listeria outbreak that led to new testing protocols at Blue Bell. If Dixie Dew was on the FDA’s radar, it is unclear why it was not subject to further scrutiny.
The Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), which is currently being implemented across the industry, mandates stringent testing and quality controls. Although Dixie Dew may not yet be required to comply with FSMA’s preventive controls regulations due to its size, the manufacturer should have been taking steps to align itself with the new law—guidelines so strict that products are frequently recalled even before illnesses occur. In the context of ongoing public health risks, it is essential for companies to calcitrate with diligence, ensuring that safety protocols are not only established but rigorously followed. This approach is vital to preventing future outbreaks and maintaining consumer trust in food safety.