U.S. alleges violations at Brooklyn Park grocery wholesaler

The federal government has threatened to partially shut down a Brooklyn Park grocery wholesaler with a history of alleged food safety violations.

The U.S. attorney's office filed a civil suit Tuesday against African Wholesale Food Supply and three of its executives. Such suits are not common; usually, regulatory disputes over food safety issues are solved after warnings are issued by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

The government argues that when it comes to seafood products, African Wholesale hasn't been doing a proper "HACCP" analysis, which stands for Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point, an important safety standard. The fish was sold under unsanitary conditions that may be unhealthy, according to the suit.

The FDA conducted two safety inspections of African Wholesale in 2010, but the company didn't promptly correct safety violations cited by inspectors, the lawsuit said. "Defendants continue to operate in blatant disregard of the law," the suit said.

Stanley Jide, African Wholesale's president and co-owner, said, "We have done everything they said needed to be done."

The company is still working on implementing the HACCP program. It has hired an outside food safety contractor to devise an HACCP plan, and then train the company's workers in how to adhere to it, Jide said.

The government has asked for a permanent injunction that could essentially prohibit African Wholesale from conducting much of its seafood business if the company doesn't remedy issues spelled out in the suit.