Ajinomoto Foods North America, Inc. Settlement
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Ajinomoto Foods North America, Inc. Settles For $8,000
In April 2024, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) reached a settlement with Ajinomoto Foods North America, Inc., (AFNA),with its principal location in Ontario, California for the company’s violations of the Management of High Global Warming Potential Refrigerants for Stationary Sources (RMP Regulation), as codified in the California Code of Regulations, title 17, section 95380 et seq.
AFNA is a frozen foods manufacturer and distributor that operates large sized refrigeration systems having a full charge of greater than 2,000 pounds of refrigerant. AFNA is subject to the requirements of the RMP Regulation because it self-reported that it owns and operates stationary refrigeration systems.
In 2020, AFNA was referred to the Enforcement Division for late annual implementation fee payment, and failure to report annual automatic leak detection system calibrations as specified in California Code of Regulations, title 17, section 95386(a). CARB’s investigation identified and documented the company’s failure to report annual automatic leak detection system calibrations in 2021 and 2022 at two facilities.
AFNA came into compliance quickly, and fully cooperated with the investigation. The civil penalty of $8,000 is over an unspecified number of days of violation. The total penalty amount will be deposited into CARB’s Air Pollution Control Fund, which provides funding for projects and research to improve California's air quality.