A seafood company in Maine, which supplies products to Boston, has been closed for repeatedly violating food safety standards throughout the past decade.
Last Friday, a permanent injunction was signed by the US District Court for the District of Maine, against Mill Stream Corp, which presently is in the business as Sullivan Harbor Farm Smokehouse, and its former owner Ira J. Frantzman.
A complaint was filed by the Department of Justice, and was signed by the defendants on behalf of Food and Drug Administration.
Consequently, the defendants agreed to cease all manufacturing operations and continue with distribution of food products once the FDA determines that they comply with the regulatory standards.
"This was a very unfortunate set of circumstances here, and a lot of these matters were resolved prior to this injunction occurring Friday," Leslie Harlow, a spokesperson for and co-founder of Sullivan Harbor Farm, told Boston.com.
Frantzman sold the facility to a new owner in January. The new owner had mentioned in a Facebook post last Monday that the company has been "working through a food safety expert with the FDA to improve safety, sanitation, and training practices in anticipation of reopening soon."
Although the facility supplied seafood to Boston-based Legal Sea Foods for the past 20 years, yet the distribution ceased in May due to FDA's findings.
According to FDA, however, the infractions can be dated back further than last year. A 2011 inspection of the facility uncovered a bacteria known as L. mono (which can be fatal to newborns as well as people with impaired immune system), on the fish - skinning machine.
Presently the facility is preparing to open under a new owner and an announcement on the re - opening date is to be made soon.
"The operation is ready to reopen," Harlow said. "We've been working with the FDA all winter. [The violations] were easy to remedy matters, there were just many of them."
