Distributor of Recalled Meat Worked for Years Without Proper Permits
Star Meat Delivery, a small North Carolina wholesaler that recalled more than 167,000 pounds of beef, pork and goat this week, has been operating for four years without proper inspections and permits, federal officials said Friday.Investigators from the Agriculture Department noticed a “labeling irregularity” on meat for sale at a South Carolina store and found it was stamped with an inspection number that the department hadn’t issued, said Mindy Brashears, the under secretary for food safety.“It is considered a false U.S.D.A.mark of inspection because the company had not completed the process to obtain a grant of inspection to legally begin processing meat under U.S.D.A.
inspection,” Ms.Brashears said on a call with reporters.At least four companies handled the meat before it reached the store’s shelves.
It came from an animal slaughtered at a properly inspected facility; went to Star Meat Delivery in North Carolina for further processing; was sold to a Georgia food distributor, A&D Foods; and ended up at a small store in South Carolina.The Agriculture Department did not name the retailer.The path food must take to reach a consumer demonstrates the complexity of the meat inspection and supply chain, where the Agriculture Department is making broad changes.To encourage competition in the meatpacking industry, the Trump administration has increased loan funding for small meat processors and is working to remove what it says are “unnecessary and burdensome” inspection requirements that do not promote food safety.
It is also considering mandating that beef and pork carry labels indicating the country of origin, requiring each step of the supply chain to certify it knows where the meat comes from.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of T...