Mick Trevey of WTMJ reported on documents discovered at the Cargill Meat Solutions plant in Milwaukee, also called Emmpak Foods, which processes more than 100 million pounds of beef every year.


Bill Marler is a lawyer who specializes in food borne illnesses. "It’s a dirty, dirty business," Marler said.

The USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service in various  "non-compliance reports" found problems in one part of Cargill’s big operation in Milwaukee.

  • In April of 2006, inspectors found a "scale well is filled with previous weeks of trash and debris." Inspectors also noted: "swinging doors are damaged (cracks), and covered with brown thick grease and other grime."
  • The documents also show in December of 2006, inspectors saw "pooled amounts of standing water, blood, and debris" on the covers over combos of meat. One of those covers "was ripped" "exposing the product inside."
  • In August of 2007, inspectors noticed a "heavy odor." They checked out the main scale and found drains under the main scale were filled with "standing water, debris, and meat trash."