Tyson Foods Inc. claims a federal meat inspector lied about checks on thousands of hogs at its Iowa plant, forcing the company to toss 8,000 carcasses and incur $2.4 million in losses and fees.
Yolanda Thompson, a federal meat inspector with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, filled out inspection cards -- while in her car -- without first examining hogs for human consumption in the Tyson's Fresh Meats plant in Storm Lake, according to a lawsuit filed this week.
Tyson became aware of this the next day, March 27, 2018, when the 4,622 hogs in question were mixed into a larger group for a total of 8,000 hog carcasses, and could no longer identify the suspect hogs, according to the lawsuit.
"This left Tyson with no choice but to destroy the negligently inspected carcasses and those with which they had been commingled," Tyson said in the 11-page complaint, resulting in a net loss of $1.85 million worth of pork.
Factoring in costs from canceled sales, freight and storage fees, overtime hours and a reduction in normal processing duties, Tyson said the federal inspector's negligence caused $2.48 million in damages.
Claims against the USDA's Food Safety Inspection Service come as industry groups and politicians push for fewer inspectors in meatpacking plants as a cost-cutting measure, arguing that corporate employees are qualified to do some of the work.
While proponents claim this would not entirely strip federal oversight from the plants, critics argue the jobs should be left with trained USDA veterinarians to identify contagious diseases.
"If the accusations are true, this is a management failure of [the inspection service]," said Tony Corbo, senior lobbyist for Food & Water Watch, a Washington, D.C., group focused on corporate and government accountability in the food sector. He said, after hearing the news, "I was horrified."
Court records show Thompson had "bad habits" when it came to inspecting hogs. In fact, her normal inspection site was a turkey processing plant, much smaller than a pork plant and different in the way animals are kept before slaughter. USDA personnel also were aware of her physical limitations and that she had difficulty walking.
In the complaint, Tyson argues if USDA personnel adequately trained and supervised Thompson, or addressed her deficient inspection methods or health issues, "the damage ... could have been avoided."
On March 26, 2018, Thompson handled pre-slaughter inspection of hogs and signed inspection cards certifying that the hogs were qualified to bear the mark of inspection. According to court records, Tyson later obtained video footage that showed Thompson never entered the pre-slaughter holding area to perform a required visual inspection of the hogs.
"Instead, Thompson remained in her vehicle signing the inspection cards without entering the holding area to examine the hogs," the complaint said.
Tyson attempted to settle the issue out of court. On Aug. 23, Tyson submitted its claims to the federal government, court records show. On Nov. 16, the USDA's Office of the General Counsel sent a letter of denial to Tyson, informing the meatpacker of its right to file suit within six months of the mailing date.
Tyson sued the U.S. government for negligence on Tuesday in an Iowa federal court. Tyson did not respond to a request for comment on the case: 5:19-cv-04020.
Corbo, an advocate for federal oversight in meat and poultry plants, saw this case as an exception to the rule. Based on the allegations, he said this was a misstep on the USDA's part for not taking immediate action when other employees tried to warn of Thompson's faults.
"The thing is, this is one bad apple," Corbo said.
Spokesman Amanda Heitkamp with the U.S. Department of Agriculture on Thursday declined to comment on the matter or say whether Thompson still worked for the food inspection agency.
Business on 05/17/2019