Hazmat or healthy? The FDA issued a very scary warning letter to Whole Foods on Tuesday that may make many consumers’ stomachs turn.
According to the letter (you can read it in full here), a New England food-prep facility run by the chain had some very serious violations that the FDA spotted when they visited over the course of five days during the month of February.
You May Also Like: Someone Has Died From Eating Dole Salad
Among them: A ceiling dripping condensation on to several prepared foods, an employee who inadvertently sprayed “ammonium-based sanitizer” on ready-to-eat mesculin salad and some handling of “exposed product without hand-washing or changing gloves in between tasks.”
There was also evidence of listeria—a potentially deadly bacteria—on equipment.
Whole Foods has since said they’ve corrected these issues and were surprised by this recent letter. “We’ve been in close contact with the FDA, opened our doors to inspectors regularly since February and worked with them to address every issue brought to our attention,” said Ken Meyer, the company’s executive vice president of operations, in an emailed statement on Tuesday.
