Court Approves Consent Decree Requiring Compliance with Federal Law and Imposing Penalties for Future Violations
Geoffrey S. Berman, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and Carmen Rottenberg, Administrator of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (“USDA") Food Safety and Inspection Service (“FSIS"), announced today the filing of a complaint and the entry of a consent decree against defendants CHUNG SHING MEATS, INC., also known as NEW CHUNG HING MEATS, INC., and its present and former owners or operators, WING HONG CHEUNG, MIAO HE FENG, YIU KWAN CHEUNG, and TIAN LUN FENG (collectively, the “defendants"), for violations of the Federal Meat Inspection Act and Poultry Products Inspection Act and related regulations at the defendants’ meat distributorship in Chinatown, Manhattan.
U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman said: “The owners and operators of Chung Shing Meats, Inc., disregarded federal regulations designed to ensure that food on people’s kitchen tables is wholesome and unadulterated. The defendants repeatedly sold uninspected meat products, in some instances selling uninspected beef bones as ‘Confucius Style Duckling.’ No style of duckling is composed of beef bones, let alone uninspected and potentially tainted beef bones. The defendants put people at risk. Today’s consent decree ensures that Chung Shing Meats will follow the law, protecting the public health and allowing consumers to have confidence in the safety of the food they buy."
USDA FSIS Administrator Carmen Rottenberg said: “The defendants repeatedly violated food safety laws by selling misbranded meat and poultry products and thereby put consumers at risk for foodborne illnesses. The consent decree agreed to by the defendants ensures that they are not selling any uninspected meat or poultry products and outlines specific ramifications if the provisions of the decree are violated."
According to the Complaint filed in Manhattan federal court:
The Federal Meat Inspection Act (“FMIA") and Poultry Products Inspection Act (“PPIA") protect the public health by imposing a set of inspections, labeling, and packaging requirements for meat and poultry products. These requirements allow consumers to have confidence in the safety of their meat and poultry products and permit public health officials to trace problems to their source.
For years, the defendants repeatedly violated federal law by selling uninspected and misbranded meat and poultry products to retailers in New York City from their facility at 19 Catherine Street, New York, New York. The defendants routinely prepared and sold meat and poultry products without meeting the minimum federal meat inspection and identification requirements of the FMIA and the PPIA, including by misbranding or repackaging meat and poultry products without the marks of federal inspection. USDA has identified FMIA and PPIA violations by the defendants that include selling uninspected or misbranded roast pork, pork chops, roast ducks, beef brisket, Silkie chickens, and other beef, poultry, and pork products. In all, USDA’s inspections have uncovered over 400 pounds of meat products sold or offered for sale in violation of the FMIA and PPIA. Although USDA inspectors repeatedly warned the defendants, they did not conform their conduct to the law.
In the consent decree entered today, the defendants admit, acknowledge, and accept responsibility for the following:
* The defendants have repeatedly sold non-federally inspected and misbranded meat and poultry products to retailers for resale, in violation of federal law.
* Among other instances, on or about April 29, 2019, May 2, 2019, and April 6, 2018, the defendants sold for resale non-federally inspected sliced beef meat, non-federally inspected pork baby ribs, non-federally inspected beef shin meat, or non-federally inspected beef bones misbranded as Confucius Style Duckling.
Pursuant to the consent decree, the defendants are enjoined from (1) selling or transporting any meat or poultry products required to be inspected and passed by USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service that have not been inspected and passed by USDA inspectors; (2) preparing or processing meat or poultry products in unsanitary conditions; and (3) engaging in any other conduct that would violate the FMIA, PPIA, and related regulations. The consent decree also requires the defendants to keep records that fully disclose transactions involving meat or poultry products and to complete mandatory training in relevant federal law and regulations. The defendants are subject to additional actions, including civil monetary penalties, termination of exempt status, contempt sanctions, and other relief, if they violate the provisions of the consent decree.
Mr. Berman thanked the USDA for its investigative efforts on this matter.
This case is being handled by this Office’s Environmental Protection Unit of the Civil Division, as part of its Food Safety Initiative. Assistant United States Attorney Steven J. Kochevar is in charge of the case.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
