Food safety, the meat industry and scandals - a perspective

Recent history is full of scandals in respect to food safety and the latest Brazilian meat inspection scandal is but the latest stage in a long line of unsavory episodes.

Anyone who read "The Jungle", the famous book by Upton Sinclair, which launched the US government oversight of meat inspection, would be familiar with the very poor state of industry practices in the early 20th century in the meat packing districts of Chicago.

Australia - meat substitution scandal 1983. Corruption and criminality and the subject of a Royal Commission. Substitution of horsemeat and kangaroo meat in beef shipments to USA and discovered by US port of entry inspection. Species testing was carried out and it ushered in a range of revised Commonwealth oversight and meat inspection as well as the AUS-MEAT product description system and additional oversight and cost imposts.

USA and Australia - organochloride residues 1987. I was closely involved in this dispute as I was Australian representative of the Australian Meat & Livestock Corporation in New York at the time. It involved cattle grazing on sugar cane and potato remnants in pastures and beef was tainted with DDT and Dieldrin, products which had been banned in USA. The whole beef trade worth $1 billion from Australia to USA was in jeopardy and for a short time there was an embargo placed on Australian beef imports, at that time our largest beef export market.

USA E coli 1993. A deadly outbreak of E. coli 0157 in California in a chain restaurant called "Jack in the Box" which was using both domestic and imported beef.

UK Ireland Europe meat substitution scandal 2013. Corruption and criminality, substitution of horsemeat in meat sold in retail chains and other outlets. Possible breakdown in meat inspection protocols.

China chicken and food scandal OSI Foods 2014. Corruption and criminality. Poor oversight by firms and end users and out of date and contaminated meat and meat products.

Brazil meat inspection corruption scandal March 2017. Corruption, criminality. Dubious oversight of meat inspection and enforcement. Rotten meat found and inspectors dismissed. Implication of large international companies.  Early days.