Strawberry Firm to Be Barred During Probe

Andrew & Williamson Sales Co. will be suspended from participating in most federal food programs until an investigation into its part in the hepatitis A scare has been completed, sources in Washington said. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Consumer Services also will prohibit Fred L. Williamson, the San Diego fruit processor’s former president, from most contracts for federal programs nationwide. The suspension will be in effect until the investigation and any related legal actions relating to the possibility of fraud have been completed. Andrew & Williamson sliced and froze the Mexican strawberries implicated in the recent outbreak of hepatitis A in Michigan and the exposure of thousands of Los Angeles schoolchildren to the disease. Andrew & Williamson apparently certified Mexican strawberries for the federal school lunch program as being U.S.-grown.