MACON, Ga. — A federal agency has ordered a Macon cereal plant to clean up after inspectors found dozens of cockroaches, beetles, and flying insects inside.
The FDA warned that California Cereal’s products have been “prepared, packed or held under unsanitary conditions” and “may have been contaminated with filth.”
The letter was sent to the company’s co-founder and CEO Robert Savely, based on a July 2019 inspection.
Savely declined comment Friday morning and said the company had sent a written response to the FDA.
The letter says California Cereal hadn’t provided proof in the past four months that it had cleaned up all of the July violations.
According to Bibb County tax records, Savely owns more than a dozen buildings on 20 acres off Mead Road. The property is valued at more than $5.5 million.
California Cereal’s website says they produce high-quality organic and glulen-free ingredients and flours, such as whole-wheat flakes, toasted oats, crisp rice, crisp quinoa, and more.
But the FDA letter says inspectors found insects “too numerous to count” in areas where the products were produced and stored and also around the trash-compactor area, which is open to the production area.
Inspectors found other problems, like rusty equipment or water dripping onto product or food surfaces.
The letter says the company voluntarily destroyed some 50-pound bags of rolled oats that may have been contaminated and also did some cleaning while federal inspectors were still on site.
13WMAZ also reached to the FDA to ask if California Cereals has filed an update on the cleanup; they have not responded.
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