Four California Slaughterhouse Owners Indicted for Illnesses Related to Ground Beef Food Recall

The two co-owners and two other employees of a slaughterhouse in Petaluma, California, have been indicted on federal charges after their business was discovered to be the epicenter of a multistate outbreak that led to a massive ground beef food recall.

On Thursday, August 14th, Jesse Amaral Jr, and employees Eugene Corda and Felix Cabrera, were indicted on federal charges for conspiracy to distribute adulterated, misbranded, and uninspected meat. They have also been charged with mail fraud for distributing tainted beef through the US Postal Service. The four defendants, according to the indictment, knowingly processed cows with eye cancer and condemned carcasses for ground beef, which led to a massive ground beef food recall.

Reportedly, the employees at Rancho Feeding Corp intentionally purchased diseased cattle, particularly with tumors on their eyes, then decapitated the carcasses and put them next to non-diseases carcasses on the assembly line to fool inspectors.

Rancho Feeding Corp was one of the largest ground beef distributers in the US, and was a beef supplier to large businesses like Wal-Mart and Kroger. The ground beef food recall for the tainted beef covered 8.7 million pounds of meat, and has affected 5,800 stores across 45 states as well as Washington DC, Guam, and Puerto Rico. Not only were thousands of grocery stores unintentionally selling the tainted beef, but 7-11, Albertson’s, Nestle Hot Pockets, Walgreens, Kroger, Piggly Wiggly, and Family Dollar, were also recipients of the tainted ground beef.

Amaral also allegedly instructed plant employees, beginning in 2012, to process cattle that had been condemned by the USDA as unfit for human consumption by carving the “USDA Condemned” stamp out of the animals’ flesh.

U.S. Rep (D) Jared Huffman said, “One would speculate at this point that in order for there [to] have been a deception that allowed a whole bunch of improperly processed meat to get certified for sale, someone at USDA was deceived,” Huffman said. “Something must have broken down in their process too. So, in the absence of information, I am left to believe that maybe they’re a little concerned that they dropped the ball, too.”

Defective Products Can Lead to Health or Food Recalls

There are a number of reasons that defective products make it to our shelves:

• Defective manufacturing
• Inadequate testing
• Food-borne pathogens
• Design defects
• Marketing Misrepresentation

Consumers that have been harmed by defective products such as drugs, medical devices, improperly-sealed food, or other products, may be eligible to receive legal remedies.

The Strom Law Firm Protects Citizens Harmed by Delayed Product or Food Recalls

The attorneys at the Strom Law Firm aim to protect our clients’ health and safety, and hold manufacturers to the highest possible standard of safety. Product recalls are especially important because defective drugs, medical devices, food, and toys can seriously injure or even kill consumers. If you or a loved one have experienced severe, life-limiting side effects from a defective food, product or drug, and believe that your pain stems from a product, drug, or food recall that came too late, you may be entitled to compensation. The Strom Law Firm can help. We offer free, confidential consultations to discuss the facts of your case, so contact us today. 803.252.4800