Federal Food and Drug Administration inspection reports reveal many problems with Jeni鈥檚 Splendid Ice Creams current and former production facility. after a month-long voluntary shut down and recall which followed the discovery of listeria in some of its ice cream.
The FDA found some problems in 2008 and a long list of potential violations in an inspection this spring.
A of Jeni鈥檚 former facility on Chesapeake Avenue found a half dozen areas of concern. Most of problems involved rodents.
Inspectors found rodent droppings in storage areas and along a wall in a production area. The inspectors found a live rodent in a glue trap next to a cleaning supply room. The report cites Jeni鈥檚 for failing to do enough to keep pests out.
Company founder Jeni Britton Bauer says the firm quickly addressed the issues.
鈥淚t is my understanding that these were in the garage, and we weren鈥檛 addressing that, so that was an easy change for us to make,鈥� said Bauer on an appearance on .
Inspectors also found workers were not following adequate personal cleanliness.
The 鈥� detailing 11 areas of concern.
Prompted by the discovery of listeria in Jeni鈥檚 ice cream in Nebraska, the FDA conducted an eight-day inspection.
Inspectors were able to watch the plant in action. The FDA found most of its concerns on April 21 鈥� two days before.
Examiners found employees and managers failed to maintain sanitary conditions. They found managers failed to assure good manufacturing practices. They found Jeni鈥檚 workers failed to store raw materials in a manner that protects against contamination.
Bauer says the report looks .
鈥淣o I wasn鈥檛 surprised by the findings," Bauer said. "They are not as shocking when you are in our kitchen. It鈥檚 not like our ceilings are caving in, we鈥檙e talking cracks in our floors, small violations. They are not as big as they seem.鈥�
The Jeni鈥檚 for not having an environmental sampling testing program, which many food production facilities have.
Bauer says they did not have the system because Ohio law does not require it. But she stresses they have always tested their product.
鈥淲e did have in-house ice cream testing program and we also sent out samples all the time and once a month through the ag. Department," Bauer said. "So we had a sampling program, it just wasn鈥檛 an environmental program, which we do now.鈥�
Jeni鈥檚 prides itself on creating a positive workplace for its employees but the FDA found fault with one component. Jeni鈥檚 allowed its employees to maintain a garden in the front of the plant, but the FDA said Jeni鈥檚 lacked controls or procedures to prevent staffers from contaminating the plant when they returned to work.
The FDA found the Michigan Avenue facility was too small to maintain adequate flow of employees and equipment through the plant for the maintenance of sanitary conditions. The firm has expanded sales in recent years, but Jeni鈥檚 maintains its Michigan Avenue plant is sufficient.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 think we鈥檝e outgrown the facility just yet. We鈥檙e a tight run ship anyway. It鈥檚 not as crowded as it seems, you know we have stations for everything. If you鈥檝e ever been in any of the top restaurants of the world, you see similar kinds of spacing and stations. We now have course have thinned all of that out and we have other partners helping us out and that鈥檚 allowing us to do that.鈥�
Jeni鈥檚 says it has spent about $200,000 to upgrade its production facility and it has moved the processing of fresh fruit and vegetables to a separate location.
