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Mother said Josh Powell threatened her
WASHINGTON, March 4 (UPI) -- The U.S. Department of Agriculture risked the public health by not taking action on reports of unsafe slaughterhouse practices, a veterinarian says.
Dean Wyatt of the USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service says he and other inspectors who cited violations ended up being overruled by department officials, USA Today reported Thursday.
In testimony prepared for Congress, Wyatt says he was threatened with a transfer or demotion when he cited a plant for butchering pigs that were still conscious.
His testimony follows several outbreaks of E. coli and other potentially deadly bacterial illnesses linked to contaminated meat.
Wyatt's experiences "illustrate a pattern that FSIS is broken and must be fixed," says Amanda Hitt of the Government Accountability Project, a whistle-blower organization that is representing Wyatt.
USDA spokesman Caleb Weaver says inaction on Wyatt's reports occurred before the tenure of current Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack who Weaver says is "fully committed" to enforcing safe and humane slaughter practices.
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