Cut Fruit Express in Inver Grove Heights was ordered by the Food and Drug Administration to fix “serious” violations in its fruit juicing operation, according to an FDA warning letter made public in April.

The FDA found the company was squeezing oranges and grapefruit without using a scientifically-proven protocol to reduce pathogens.
Regulations require that a pathogen-reduction treatment come in direct contact with all of the juice after squeezing. Alternatively, a processor may treat the unsqueezed fruit and then test the juice at regular intervals for E. coli.
According to the FDA, Cut Fruit Express was using a "surface treatment . . . to treat the fruit prior to juice extraction for which we are unable to find any documentation in the published literature to substatiate its efficacy in achieving" proper pathogen reduction.
The FDA also noted the company was not testing the juice for E. coli.
In addition, an employee sink had no hot water, a juicing machine with “extensive product buildup” was not sanitized prior to reuse, and a barrel of chemicals was unlabeled.
The company was told to correct the problems, provide a reason for any delay or face “seizure and injunction.”
The food processor’s website assures customers that it abides by strict federal food-safety regulations.

Read the FDA's warning letter here.