Press Release – FAA Proposes $54,000 Civil Penalty Against Gordon Food Service for Alleged Hazardous Materials Violations
For Immediate Release
August 19, 2016
Contact: Kathleen Bergen
Phone: 404-305-5100; Email: kathleen.bergen@faa.gov
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) proposes a $54,000 in civil penalty against Gordon Food Service of Wyoming, Mich., for allegedly violating the Hazardous Materials Regulations.
The FAA alleges that on Aug. 11, 2014, Gordon Food Service offered UPS a shipment of 30 four-ounce Fryer Boil-Out Foaming tablets for air transportation from Plant City, Fla., to Greensboro, N.C. The tablets are made of corrosive sodium hydroxide, and the inner boxes displayed the words, “DANGER: May Cause Burns.”
Workers at UPS’s Lakeland, Fla., sort facility discovered the shipment.
The FAA alleges the package was not properly marked, labeled or accompanied by shipping papers indicating the amount, type and hazardous nature of the material inside. The FAA also alleges that the company did not provide required emergency response information with the shipment.
Furthermore, the FAA alleges the company failed to ensure its employees received required hazardous materials training and failed to include emergency response information with the package.
Gordon Food Service has 30 days from receipt of the FAA’s enforcement letter to respond to the agency.