18 April, 2012

BEEF SIDE STORY

One of my early inspections involved a small town delivery van and an unscrupulous butcher.  The van had many deliveries to make at different towns and was carrying quite an assortment of products from containers of bleach to sides of beef.  I got a phone call from a resident complaining of her purchase of a side of beef with a burned odour from a truck parked off the highway.  Upon inspecting, we found the packaging from the beef had been discarded by the highway.   The butcher got a good deal on sides of beef and decided to sell them to his friends.  Unfortunately, the beef was in the same van as containers of toxic chemicals.  Somehow, either through smoking a cigarette or some other source, the packaging of the beef caught fire and the butcher had to unload quickly.  Later that day, we did receive more complaints from local residents who thought they were getting a “good deal” on beef but instead got a questionable side of meat.  This goes to show that you do get what you pay for.  Eventually, the butcher was caught and fined.

ENVIRO-FOOD CONSULTING is a foodservice consulting business run by Sally de la Rue Browne, Registered Environmental Health Officer and Food Safety Consultant in Vancouver, BC Canada. 2188 Rufus Drive, North Vancouver, BC V7J 3P9 GST # 122596679
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