Photos of raw meat delivery prompt investigation
SAN JOSE, Calif. — Authorities are investigating a delivery of raw, unwrapped pork that was hauled into a Northern California grocery store in shopping carts. The Santa Clara County Department of Environmental Health says it received complaints Friday about an "unauthorized delivery of pork" to the 99 Ranch Market in San Jose.
The agency says it is "taking immediate steps to conduct a thorough investigation and appropriate actions to ensure food safety for the public."
According to CBS San Francisco, this comes after San Jose resident Loretta Seto posted images of the delivery on Facebook.
"Kids can easily get sick. So my first thought was just to protect other moms and kids out there," Seto said. "It's just slabs of pork just plopped into the shopping cart and it was being wheeled in through the front door and my first thought was this is absolutely disgusting."
She added that it was her "instinct as a parent" to warn other parents about what she saw. "Who knows if they put the carts right back without sanitizing it or pressure washing it," she said.
"This is a whole new level of gross," Seto exclaimed in her Facebook post.
Jim's Farm Meat Co. office manager Maria Moon confirms to the Modesto Bee the meat came from her company. She says the two employees seen pushing the carts into the store have been fired.
The supermarket, Ranch 99, has also issued an apology online, saying in part, "We are investigating this case and have filed a complaint to the meat vendor."
Seto pointed out that the carts came from a nearby Costco. The big box chain responded by saying all of the carts from that store are being sanitized.
