Foster Farms chicken plant shut over roaches

Foster Farms' plant in Livingston (Merced County) has had problems with cockroaches and salmonella. Foster Farms' plant in Livingston (Merced County) has had problems with cockroaches and salmonella. Photo: Rich Pedroncelli, Associated Press Photo: Rich Pedroncelli, Associated Press Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Foster Farms chicken plant shut over roaches 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

A Foster Farms chicken plant southeast of Modesto was shut down after federal inspectors reported finding cockroaches in the facility for the fifth time in the last four months.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture sent a letter Wednesday to Foster Farms chief executive Ron Foster ordering the suspension of operations at the Livingston (Merced County) plant, citing unsanitary conditions.

The company said sanitization and treatment of the plant was completed on Wednesday. However, operations cannot resume until Foster Farms presents a detailed plan to the government on how it will correct the problem.

"The suspension will remain in effect until the establishment provides adequate written assurances of corrective and preventive measures to assure that meat and poultry products will be produced under sanitary conditions," USDA spokesman Adam Tarr said in a statement.

Foster Farms said the discovery of the pests was an "isolated incident" and that consumers had nothing to fear. "No other facilities are affected. Today's treatment is expected to fully resolve this incident," the company statement read. "No products are affected."

While the USDA reported no evidence of food-borne disease, a senior staff attorney with the advocacy group Center for Science in the Public Interest cautioned that the presence of insects was a sign of trouble.

"An infestation of insects of any kind, but particularly cockroaches, is never good," said Sarah Klein. "They can carry disease and it is indicative of a company's loss of control of a facility."

The plant in Livingston was one of three linked to a salmonella outbreak in October that sickened more than 300 people, most of them in California, according to federal regulators.

Klein said consumers who worry about illness should make sure all poultry products are cooked to an internal temperature of 16o degrees and take measures to prevent cross-contamination.