Were your test results correct and reported as required?

In the USA, the owner of a Meat Packing company is facing a possible five years in federal prison and a $1 million fine.

He is due to be sentenced in November after pleading guilty to submitting fraudulent test results.

The food business owner pleaded guilty to one count of making and using a false document. He admitted to  falsifying 36 laboratory reports relating to 52 swabs taken from carcasses between November 2016 and September 2017.

The USDA’s requirement is that swabs for E.coli must be taken for every 300 slaughtered animals and tested by a certified laboratory.

The documents from the case show that no swabs were sent for testing as required.

The company involved may also face potential civil, administrative consequences.

This case and it’s consequences should be a wake up call to all food business owners and managers. There are significant penalties if documents are falsified or processes that need to be done are not. These consequences are not only for the business but the owners and the managers.