LIVERMORE FALLS – The state wants a judge to shut down a bakery in Livermore Falls for repeatedly ignoring orders to be more sanitary.

Robert Spear, the commissioner of the Maine Department of Agriculture, has filed a lawsuit in Androscoggin County Superior Court against the owner of Livermore Falls Baking Co.

The lawsuit seeks an injunction to stop the bakery from making and selling pizza crusts, bread rolls and other baked goods.

According to the suit, the Maine Department of Agriculture inspected the Garfield Road bakery eight times between June 2000 and July 2003. Inspectors found similar problems each time, the lawsuit states.

Owners Terri and Anthony Maxwell have repeatedly been cited for dirty floors and counter tops, paint chips falling from the ceiling, employees who didn’t wash their hands before handling food, uncovered light bulbs and dusty, unsanitary equipment.

The owners received a report after every inspection with orders to correct the problems. They also received two letters, one in August 2000 and another in June 2003, ordering him to submit a written plan for correcting the problems within 10 days.

But, according to the lawsuit, they never responded.

The Maxwells acknowledged Friday that they never responded to the state’s letter. They blamed that on a miscommunication between each other.

But, the couple said, they have made many improvements since they bought the bakery in 2000. They’ve done basic cleaning, covered the light bulbs and installed hand-washing sinks, Anthony Maxwell said.

Other projects, such as resurfacing the cement floor, have been too expensive and will require them to get a bank loan, Maxwell added.

Over the past two years, inspectors noted some improvements, including repairs to a portion of the ceiling and an effort to clean up the outside of the business by clearing some weeds.

But, according to the suit, most of the other problems have remained.

“The food products produced at the bakery are being produced, prepared, packaged and held under unsanitary conditions,” the state alleges in its lawsuit.

The Maxwells are hopeful that they will stay open.

“We haven’t done everything, but most of it is done or is in the process of being done,” Anthony Maxwell said. “We’re in the process of negotiating with the state now, and I hope that we can work it out.”

lchmelecki@sunjournal.com