BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — A sandwich company hit by federal allegations of unsanitary plant conditions has closed, putting about 100 people out of work.
Southern Belle Sandwich Co. also has sold its customer contracts to Landshire Inc. of Belleville, Ill., Southern Belle vice president Ricky Bearden said.
Last month, federal marshals raided Southern Belle’s plant after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said tuna salad sandwiches were made in unsanitary conditions, including signs of rodent and insect infestation.
Bearden said that while he still disputes the FDA’s allegations, publicity about the raid was too much for the company to overcome.
“I’ve never seen a rodent run on the floor — ever,” he said. “For the FDA to send out a press release that says we’re a rodent-infested facility … I’ve never seen a rodent there in 25 years.”
Bearden said Southern Belle was never fined, no product was recalled and the company was never ordered to stop production, though it did so voluntarily. Even the $72,000 in questioned sandwiches never left the facility, he said.
“We really were blindsided by this,” he said.
Bearden, who is now a Landshire employee, said he also plans to start a new company with a business partner in early October that would essentially carry on Southern Belle’s catering division, though it will not carry that name.
 
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