Rancho was ordered to recall 8.7 million
pounds of beef after federal government inspectors identified problems at the
plant.
One of Amaral Jr.’s partners has testified
that some cattle that had cancerous eyes were slaughtered and their meat put
into the processing system and that their cancer was covered up by switching
heads the government inspectors were checking.
Amaral Jr. is the third person to plead
guilty in the conspiracy.
Prosecutors say that for two years,
Amaral instructed employees at the slaughterhouse north of San Francisco to
process cattle that U.S. Department of Food and Agriculture veterinarians
rejected.
The scandal left a lot of ranchers who
were purchasing custom slaughter without a place to handle their cattle.
