Smithfield Sued On Basis Of False Advertising Regarding Its Food Safety Claims
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According to the complaint filed by OCA, Smithfield uses social media and YouTube to promote their message of safe food production and targets an audience that’s particularly concerned with food safety. OCA’s complaint also stated that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has notified Smithfield on numerous occasions that their pork is more likely to be contaminated with salmonella than other similar products from slaughter plants of the same size.
“Failure to report these notifications to consumers is one thing. But claiming that its products are the ‘safest’ possible pork products in the U.S. is a blatant misrepresentation of the brand’s actual safety record,” OCA Co-founder and Director Ronnie Cummins said in the release. “The current heightened consumer concern about safety in the meat industry is all the more reason to hold Smithfield accountable for false safety claims.”
The USDA found that Smithfield’s pork products contain pathogens often associated with human illnesses resistant to antibiotics, the release said. According to OCA, this is due to Smithfield’s use of antibiotics on healthy animals to prevent the spread of diseases that come from their plants’ allegedly crowded and unsanitary conditions.
This practice is cited by the Centers for Disease Control and the World Health Organization as one of the greatest health risks today because it can lead to the emergence of antibiotic-resistant diseases.
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https://investigatemidwest.org/2020/06/11/smithfield-sued-for-falsely-advertising-themselves-as-safest-u-s-pork-products/
