JC Reindl

Detroit Free Press

The FDA is attempting to shut down a small Detroit sandwich maker for failing to following regulatory procedures when making tuna sandwiches.

A Justice Department lawyer on Friday asked the U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Michigan for an injunction against Scotty's Inc., 3426 Junction St., which does business as Bruce Enterprises and makes sandwiches for convenience stores and police stations in Michigan and Ohio.

According to the complaint, Scotty's disregarded multiple orders by the FDA to write and implement a required regulatory plan for safely making tuna sandwiches. The business also failed to make, package and store its sandwiches in conditions that minimize the potential for contamination.

DOJ spokeswoman Nicole Navas said the FDA is unaware of any consumer complaints or reports of illness from the sandwiches, whose tuna purportedly arrived from New Jersey.

In a phone interview Friday, business co-owner Sandra Jackson said she's puzzled by the DOJ action, as she has not sold tuna sandwiches in at least a year and a half. She said she is working to hire an expert to help write and implement the needed regulatory plan. The business employs seven to eight workers, she said.

Scotty's attorney Jerome Moore, said the issue is essentially missing paperwork — not the safety or quality of the sandwiches.

"They put out a good product," Moore said. "If they didn't, they wouldn't be in business for over 50 years."

The DOJ wants the injunction to last until the business complies with all food and sanitary regulations.