rss feedReports: South San Francisco tofu company, started in 1906, to pay $90K in health fines
If there’s anything that I’ve learned in my short time observing tofu, it’s that the food – often criticized as bland mass – can reflect life’s ups and downs.
Earlier this week, there was an up, when Hodo Soy Beanery opened its organic tofu shop in Oakland, Calif.
On Thursday, there was a bit of a low when Quong Hop & Co., a South San Francisco tofu company, was ordered to pay $90,000 in fines for failing to keep its plant clean.
The San Mateo County District Attorney’s Office announced the fines that covered the past two years, reporter Sean Maher of the San Mateo County Times wrote.
The company – which says it was one of the first tofu businesses in the United States – essentially did not keep its food area free of pests, according to the article.
It also reportedly maintained poor plumbing and lacked enough areas for employees to wash their hands.
The company has made tofu since 1906 and markets its products under Soy Deli, Soy Fresh and Raquel’s.
Prosecutors said the company’s products have not caused anyone to become sick and state of California health officials determined on Wednesday that the food plant met safety codes.
Maher quoted San Mateo County Deputy District Attorney John Wilson:
These fines are about law violations in the past….Part of the injunction going forward forces the company to comply with basic laws, but goes above and beyond and requires the company to take extra steps to ensure the food will be safe.
Reporters in the San Francisco Bay Area called the company for comment but were unable to reach a representative.
The company said on its Web site that it distributes its products in California, Washington, Oregon, Nevada, Arizona, Alaska, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Illinois, Indiana, Wyoming and Montana.
In the past, inspectors in Washington state found that one pack of the company’s tofu was contaminated, according to information posted on the Quong Hop & Co. Web site.
The company conducted tests for Listeria monocytognes, which are found in water and soil. The company said they can enter food products before packaging.
The company reported that they are “bacteria which can cause serious or fatal infection and temporary illness, and in rare instances, miscarriages and still births.”
Some of Quong Hop’s 12- and 30-ounce packages of white tofu showed trace amounts of the bacteria. In 2007, the company issued a recall for these tofu batches.
Sing Hau Lee started the company, which made tofu daily and sold it to Chinese in the San Francisco Bay Area from a grocery store.
The San Francisco Chronicle also reported on the case.
