Texas Prison Accidentally Serves Pet Food To Inmates

Following a label snafu at a local food company, a Texas prison accidentally served up meat originally designated as pet food to its inmates. According to The New York Daily News, the so-called “beef trimmings” weren’t originally meant for human consumption, but they somehow managed to find their way onto the end of prisoners’ forks. However, officials insist that these individuals won’t experience any ill effects as a result of the debacle. Still, it’s a little disturbing.

The meat, which was never meant to be eaten by human beings, was sold to a broker who intended to sell the trimmings to pet food manufacturers. However, at some point during the process, labels got mixed up, signals got crossed, and the icky beef soon found its way into the Texas prison system. The food served behind bars must be pretty bad because no one seemed to notice the difference.

John Soules Foods, the company that sold off the meat, claims that it was having trouble getting this particular batch of beef to freeze properly. As a result, they decided to cut their loses and sell the trimmings to pet food makers. They insist the food was never meant to be sold for human consumption.

In order to properly settle the case, the company, which bills itself as “America’s Leading Fajita Brand,” will be forced to pay $392,000 to the US Treasury General Fund. An apology to the inmates who had to eat it might be appropriate as well.

The settlement states that John Soules Foods has “cooperated and has demonstrated a desire to continue to cooperate in investigating any allegations that any of their products may have been received in an adulterated state or without the appropriate labeling.”

According to CBC, the Tyler, Texas-based company employs over 500 people and provides meat products to restaurants, supermarkets, and food service distributors.