Teamsters Educate Consumers About Fresh Food Concepts, Walmart Supplier with History of Product Recalls

NEW YORK, NY (05/03/2012)(readMedia)-- Teamsters Local One-L is launching a campaign to educate Walmart customers about Fresh Food Concepts, a Walmart supplier with a history of manufacturing food products potentially tainted with fatal bacteria. Walmart is a leading distributor of products made by Fresh Food Concepts. As part of this campaign Teamsters distributed detailed information about Fresh Food Concepts' product recalls at a Walmart Supercenter in Secaucus, New Jersey. The Teamsters plan to reach out to consumers at other Walmart stores in the coming weeks.

"Consumers should ask Walmart why they continue to sell products made by a company with a documented history of manufacturing potentially deadly food," declared Patrick LoPresti, President of Teamsters Local One-L.

In August 2011, Fresh Food Concepts recalled various Layer Dip products from stores nationwide that were at risk of being contaminated with bacteria Listeria Monocytogenes. According to the FDA, Listeria can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems.

Additionally, on March 5, 2010 Fresh Foods Concepts had recalled various spinach dips at risk of Salmonella contamination. Walmart currently carries a variety of Fresh Food Concepts Spinach Dips, including at least one that was recalled in 2010.

Fresh Food Concepts is owned by Westbury Partners, a private investment firm. Westbury purchased Fresh Food Concepts in 2010 in partnership with a consortium of investors that includes Ancor Capital Partners, Centerfield Capital Partners and CapitalSouth Partners.

The union uncovered Fresh Food Concepts' disturbing record of product recalls while investigating the labor, health and safety record of portfolio companies owned by Westbury.

"Our investigation into Westbury's portfolio has revealed numerous violations of federal health and safety regulations and has forced us to take a closer look at Westbury and its subsidiaries", said Patrick LoPresti, President of GCC/IBT Local 1-L. "It's clear that Westbury and its portfolio companies are bad for consumers and bad for workers."

Local One-L is engaged in an ongoing labor dispute with AFL Web Printing, a subsidiary of Westbury Partners with an extensive history of illegal activity. AFL Web Printing was recently found guilty of illegal firing workers for union activity and also fined $170,000 by the federal Occupational Health and Safety administration for potentially life threatening safety violations.

For more information visit AFLWebExposed.org