HOLLYWOOD, Fla. – An Inspector with the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services was recently at the Penn Dutch Food Center for a "focused inspection" and found "dangerous, unwholesome or insanitary conditions."
Penn Dutch is located at 3950 N. 28th Terrace in Hollywood. You can see it from Interstate 95, between Stirling Road and Sheridan Street when heading south.
The inspection took place March 5.
The inspector found water dripping from the ceiling and/or fans onto uncovered turkey drums, turkey breast loaves, ham hocks, neck bones, pig tails, pork parts, chorizo and sausage.
The inspector issued a "stop use order" on the walk-in chiller.
A "stop sale" was ordered on:
- 432 pounds turkey drums
- 30 pounds of turkey breast loaves
- 270 pounds of ham hocks
- 48 pounds of neck bones
- 45 pounds of pig tails
- 55 pounds of pig parts
- 508 pounds of chorizo
- 540 pounds of mild Georgia sausage.
That's not all.
Local 10 News has learned that on Feb. 20, 100 pounds of chicken salad was voluntarily destroyed because it was possibly contaminated with listeria monocytogenes, per lab results.
"Right now, there is a lot of unknowns going on. We are getting our product independently tested," said Greg Salsberg, president of Penn Dutch Food Center. "Food safety is our No. 1 concern."
Salsberg said Penn Dutch has stopped selling its chicken salad.
"No one, thank goodness, got sick. We disposed of it and we are currently not selling it," he said.
Listeriosis is a serious infection caused by the germ listeria monocytogenes.
People usually become ill with listeriosis after eating contaminated food.
The disease primarily affects pregnant women, newborns, older adults and people with weakened immune systems.
The Centers for Disease Control says it's rare for people in other groups to get sick with listeria infection.
This is not the first issue at Penn Dutch.
In May 2018, an inspector noted that fresh cod fish purchased at the store had a very strong smell of ammonia. The inspector also saw smoked salmon covered in mold.
When the inspector returned the next day, the molded salmon had been put back on the floor for sale.
"We are not perfect. We understand that," Salsberg said. "We are going to go above and beyond to do the right thing. We value our customers and we value the quality of food that we sell. Most importantly, we want it to be safe for everyone."
Penn Dutch has been opened for 44 years.