A March sentencing date has been set for a Downey man who falsely certified that beef being sold by his employer was free of E. coli — which later proved to be false when one beef sample was found to be contaminated with the pathogen.
Jim Johnson, 67, who worked as a consultant to the now-defunct Huntington Meat Packing Company, pleaded guilty this week to a federal false statements charge, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Huntington Meat was a Montebello-based meat processing and distribution company that sold raw ground beef that was used by other companies to make products such as beef patties and burrito mix. Under a food safety plan approved by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Huntington Meat was required to test its products for safety.
When he pleaded guilty in Los Angeles federal court, Johnson admitted that in 2010 he knowingly and willfully provided the USDA’s Food Safety Inspection Service with a fake Certificate of Analysis, which falsely stated that a beef sample from the company had tested negative for E. coli, prosecutors said.
Subsequent lab results showed that some of this meat was contaminated with the bacteria, which prompted the FSIS to issue a recall for 864,000 pounds of meat, officials said.
There were no illnesses linked to the recalled beef, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
“The defendant’s lie created a public health hazard, and such conduct will not be tolerated,” said Eileen M. Decker, the U.S. attorney in Los Angeles. “The public is entitled to have confidence in the food that makes it to its tables.” As a result of his guilty plea, Johnson faces up to five years in federal prison when he is sentenced by U.S. District Judge Fernando M. Olguin on March 3, prosecutors said.
E. coli is a potentially deadly germ that can cause bloody diarrhea, dehydration and, in severe cases, kidney failure. The germ can be killed by cooking fresh and frozen meat products to an internal temperature of 160 degrees.
