USDA Shuts Butte, Mont., Meat Processing Plant
Posted on: Tuesday, 9 August 2005, 21:00 CDT
Aug. 9--Federal inspectors shut down a Butte meat processing plant Monday for sanitation violations, a government spokeswoman said.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture suspended operations at Ranchland Packing Co., 1201 Centennial Ave., after inspectors found rodent and insect problems last week, said Amanda Eamich of the Food Safety Inspection Service.
"They discovered gross infestations and unsanitary conditions throughout the facility," she said.
Plant owner Gary Wold said he has corrected the problems, which were minor and confined to office areas.
"In a hallway off of the office there were some cobwebs and there were several mouse-droppings ... in a back room," he said. "These are places where there is not (meat) production." But he can't resume business until the USDA approves a correction and prevention plan, which he must submit by Thursday.
"It's nothing that they can't get out of; it's just the normal process we have," Eamich said.
Ranchland Packing is a federally inspected plant, meaning it processes meat for use inside and outside of Montana. State-inspected plants can sell meat only in Montana.
"Never in 30 years of business have we ever had one food safety complaint or issue," said Wold, who has 12 employees.
He and other state processors say the USDA is being unduly hard on them.
"There's no doubt in my mind that Montana plants are targeted," said John Munsell, former owner of Montana Quality Meats in Miles City.
"I think they want to get rid of the small plants," said John Putsch, owner of Maddison Meats in Sheridan.
Munsell made headlines in 2002 when inspectors found tainted beef at his plant, which he accused the USDA of failing to trace to ConAgra Beef. ConAgra was later involved in one of the nation's largest beef recalls.
He sued the USDA to force policy changes and formed a group called Meat Processors for Safe Food.
"It is our intention to closely visit with each other and expose to each other how the USDA is handling our plants," he said.
And Putsch is dropping federal inspections out of frustration; his plant will soon be only state-inspected.
"I'm bailing," he said. "A guy like me can't afford to be federal anymore." Montana plants are not targeted, Eamich said.
"Our inspectors are doing the same thing in Montana establishments that they're doing in the other 49 states," she said.
The suspension stalls Wold's growth plans; for now he's focusing on carcasses hanging in his cooler. Among them are 180 that 4-H kids sold at the Lewis and Clark County Fair in Helena.
"If the people who bought don't receive the product, then the kids will not receive their money," he said.
-----
To see more of The Montana Standard, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.mtstandard.com.
Copyright (c) 2005, The Montana Standard, Butte
Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.
For information on republishing this content, contact us at (800) 661-2511 (U.S.), (213) 237-4914 (worldwide), fax (213) 237-6515, or e-mail reprints@krtinfo.com.
CAG,
Source: The Montana Standard
Related Articles
- Help With Heating Bills Available Through State and Federal Assistance Programs
- United States Orienteering Federation Hires Glen Schorr as Executive Director
- State Sues Federal Government
- Nation's First Interoperable Emergency Communications Service Unveiled in Texas By Local, State and Federal Officials
- South Texas Project Nuclear Plant Has New Senior Inspector
- Produce Safety and Security International, Inc. Offers New 8600 R-T-U Product for Use in Federally Inspected Poultry and Meat Packing Facilities
- Many Requests for State and Federal Records Aren't From Reporters They're From Private Citizens and Both Liberal and Conservative Groups.
- State Seeks Federal Reimbursement; Roads Can't Wait, Congress is Told
- State Awarded Federal Grant for Rail Station Study
- Farm School Found to Meet State and Federal Guidelines
 |
 |
User Comments (0)
RSS Feeds