Chook Me!

How do I report food product contamination?

i worked for Pilgrim's Pride, a major producer and distributor of chicken to grocery stores and KFC. I was in the quality department. One of my jobs was to take samples from chicken and the machines that cut and portioned the chickens and check for salmonella and e-coli. Every single weak the e-coli levels exceeded acceptable limits and I reported these findings to management. I submitted these reports to management that were to be forwarded to the on sight USDA investigators. Most of the USDA personnel grew up in the area (rural Kentucky) and were acquainted with our staff in one way or another ( related to or in school together). There were times when the bacteria levels were so high that in 24 hours in the incubator the tops popped off of the petrie dishes. This goes far beyond "failure" levels of "too numerous to count" or TNTC. I not only witnessed many practices that created hazardous food safety standards, I was ordered by my supervisors to overlook these situations and told to falsify documentation so that when we turned it in to the USDA it was clean. I quit upon my own accord and do not buy chicken for my household because I know that it is unsafe. How do I stop this? This company knows that the family of a sick or dead child cannot pin it on them and it is just cheaper for them to falsify paperwork than to actually keep the factories clean. So, how do I stop this without ruining my life?

Public Comments

1. go to PETA.ORG or HSUS.ORG and tell them