Federal food safety officials have shut down an Augusta processing company involved with a massive recall of canned chili linked to botulism poisoning last summer.

Castleberry's Food Company received a letter from the Food and Drug Administration on Friday that suspended its operating permit. The U.S. Department of Agriculture, which monitors food plants that include meat in their products, also pulled its inspectors from the Augusta plant on Friday, spokeswoman Amanda Eamich said.

The FDA permit was a temporary one, issued last September with specific conditions that allowed the company to reopen after a two-month shutdown tied to the botulism investigation.

Problems on a processing line not associated with last summer's recall triggered the permit suspension, said Kim Rawlings, an FDA spokeswoman.

There have been no reports of illness tied to any products. The federal agencies suspended operations at the plant after an FDA inspection, Eamich said.

The company can apply for reinstatement to resume operations once it has addressed concerns from both federal agencies and developed a correction plan.

Castleberry's recalled more than 90 products and 27 brands of foods last summer, including chili, beef stew, hot dog chili sauce, hash, gravy and pet food. The recall was triggered by reports of botulism linked to Castleberry's chili sauce. At least eight cases of botulism were reported last summer. The recall covered two years worth of production on one processing line at the plant.

There is no recall associated with the latest plant closing, according to a prepared statement from Dave Melbourne, senior vice president of Castleberry's.

Castleberry's did not provide a reason why federal officials shut down the plant.

"We are cooperating fully with the agencies and look forward to a prompt resolution [so] that we can resume operation and work shifts," Melbourne said in the statement.

The plant employs 330 full-time workers.

Last fall, Castleberry's rebranded its namesake line to American Originals, with a redesigned label.

The botulism cases were the first tied to a commercially canned food product in the United States in the past 30 years. Clostridium botulinum, which can grow in canned foods that haven't been properly heated during processing, creates a nerve toxin that causes a severe paralyzing illness that can be fatal if left untreated.