The Food and Drug Administration found "serious violations" during an inspection at the King of Pops production facility in South Carolina, according to an Aug. 3 "warning letter" issued to the company.
Violations observed during the June 12 to 14 inspection included rodent droppings, live insects and food debris on food production equipment.
The facility’s production manager sent a letter to the FDA outlining corrective actions that would be taken, but the agency said the June 28 response wasn’t adequate.
In an announcement Friday, the Inman Park-based frozen treat company said it is suspending production at the facility — which serves product to Charleston and recently Savannah — until the FDA approves of corrections.
CEO Steven Carse posted the public letter to Facebook Friday “in light of recent concern regarding” the facility.
“After reading the letter ... I was embarrassed and disappointed with the findings — as was everyone else in the company,” his statement says.
It continues:
"We've been racking our brains to figure out how this could have happened. In retrospect, we've realized that our North Charleston production facility did not get the proper attention as it was making significantly less product than our other facilities (North Charleston makes about 4 percent of company pops). Our product in the North Charleston facility is tested monthly by the department of health and we have never had any issues."
The letter encourages anyone to visit any of the facilities at any time, and says all but the South Carolina facility are in good standing with the FDA. Production facilities are also located in Richmond, Virginia; Charlotte, North Carolina; and Atlanta.
The Atlanta facility, located at 337 Elizabeth St., is in the process of expanding to a larger facility at 552 Decatur St. SE.
The company “will work hard for as long as we have the opportunity to earn your support and trust back,” according to the letter, which includes Carse’s cell phone number.
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