Two Agriculture Department meat inspectors were shot to death Wednesday while on a visit to a sausage factory in San Leandro, Calif. A state inspector was also killed.
Stuart Alexander, the factory owner, was arrested on suspicion of murder and attempted murder, the Associated Press reported. A sign hung outside of Alexander's factory claimed he was being harassed by USDA meat inspectors.
"The deaths of the three meat inspectors was senseless-they were killed trying to protect consumers," said Bobby Harnage, president of the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE).
AFGE represents 5,300 federal meat inspectors. Harnage pointed to USDA's new meat and poultry food safety program, the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point system (HACCP), as a potential factor in the killings. HACCP moves meat inspectors away from the production line into monitoring meat company management practices, with only spot inspections of carcasses. The program has been the source of a major cultural shift in the relations between inspectors and factories.
"There is a great deal of friction and turmoil on the front lines for federal meat inspectors. Changes in the meat inspection system-such as HACCP-are making it harder for inspectors to perform their jobs with the meat and poultry industry," Harnage said.
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