CEDAR RAPIDS — The U.S. Department of Agriculture has agreed to pay $1 million to Tyson Foods after the food processor accused the federal agency of failing to properly inspect thousands of hogs.
In a lawsuit filed in federal court in May, Tyson Foods accused Dr. Yolanda Thompson with the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service of approving the inspection of 4,622 hogs despite never entering the pre-slaughter holding area to “perform an in-person visual inspection”.
As a response to the inspections, Tyson had “no choice but to destroy the negligently inspected carcasses and those with which they had been commingled, salvaging portions of the product for non-food related purposes at a greatly reduced rate”, according to the complaint.
Tyson alleged $2.4 million in damages.
Tyson Foods confirmed to Local 5 that the company and USDA had reached a settlement for $1 million.
“This was an unfortunate situation and we appreciate the USDA for working with us to address our losses,” a USDA spokesperson told Local 5 in a statement. “We take our commitment to food safety very seriously and look forward to continued partnership with the USDA.”