A former State Feed (and pet food) Inspector has plead guilty in a federal criminal investigation involving pet food ingredients.
What started back in 2014 with Purina Pet Foods suing Blue Buffalo Pet Foods for including by-products in their pet foods while claiming no by-products were used, has led to felony charges of multiple individuals and multiple companies. All charged and pleading guilty to knowingly labeling “feather meal” (a by-product consisting of ground feathers) as chicken meal and selling the mislabeled ingredients to Blue Buffalo and an unknown amount of pet food manufacturers.
And now this story has taken another very concerning twist, one of the individuals that plead guilty to selling mislabeled pet food ingredients was – a former state feed official. Someone who was supposed to protect the consumer from adulterated products, instead sold adulterated products to pet food.
Per the St. Louis Post-Dispatch newspaper website…
The former Texas inspector, Gregory S. McKinney, 49, waived indictment and pleaded guilty May 11 to a federal felony of adulteration or misbranding of food. McKinney was once employed by the Office of the Texas State Chemist, which investigates the agriculture and feed industries.
While still employed by the state, he formed and ran a company called Superior Commodities LLC to “replicate” practices he’d once investigated, his plea agreement says.
McKinney admitted in his plea to supplying falsely labeled ingredients for pet food products to boost profits. The products were labeled as chicken meal, which is supposed to contain higher quality ingredients, but instead contained cheaper ingredients.
McKinney’s company earned $2 million or more that way, and he took in roughly half of that amount, his plea says. At his sentencing hearing, set for Aug. 24, he could face roughly four years in prison.
Why was a State Feed Official ever allowed to form and run a feed/pet food ingredient company while being a state employee tasked with inspecting the very products his business sold? Where was the oversight on this concerning conflict of interest?
How many other State Feed/Pet Food Officials own conflict of interest companies?
VERY concerning.
This is the first time – to my knowledge – that a corrupt State Feed Official has faced federal charges. Our thanks to the prosecuting attorneys in this case.
Wishing you and your pet(s) the best,
Susan Thixton
Pet Food Safety Advocate
Author Buyer Beware, Co-Author Dinner PAWsible
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Stephen Abarno
July 12, 2018 at 8:10 pm
What goes on at the state and federal level of our Criminal governments !!! Cash being put in pockets !!!
Debbie
July 12, 2018 at 8:23 pm
GOOD, I live in Texas and we have some corrupt people here.
Noreen Nugeness
July 12, 2018 at 9:02 pm
This is not only sad but disgusting to learn that our fur babies are eating something that will kill them. We pet owners want the best for them, buy Organic Chicken, meats and vegetables and then we find out that the Inspectors are closing their eyes and letting our babies eat food that is causing them to get sick, suffer, and eventually die? I hope they all do go to Prison and are fed the same food every day. If it’s not good enough for humans then why are Pet Food Companies selling it for our pets? Who can we trust? It’s all about money.
Lorayne Lapin
July 12, 2018 at 10:43 pm
We should feed the contaminated food to the offenders!
anne
July 12, 2018 at 10:44 pm
McKinney should be fined $2 million that would be donated to animal rescue organizations and spend the next 10 years in jail for his duplicity and outright fraud.
landsharkinnc
July 13, 2018 at 5:59 am
hopefully this indescretion will open the eyes of not only state officials regarding ‘conflict of interest’ endeavors, as well as that of other individuals in the feed processing business. I hope he pulls some real time for this rather than having it reduced to ‘probationary’ status …
Cheri Fellinger
July 13, 2018 at 12:36 pm
So what? Corrupt official are supposed to be policing other corrupt officials? How does that work? What does that look like? Does it look like 4D meats, styrofoam and chemical waste in pet food? Mystery solved. The really terrible thing is I bet this same thing goes on in the human grade food chain.
Nancy
July 16, 2018 at 10:33 am
Hmmm… only 4 years in prison for this guy and he got $1,000,000. And, he’ll likely be out on parole much sooner. When you think about it, a short time in prison isn’t bad for an income of $1,000,000. Unless he’s also having to give up the money he made by breaking the law, why wouldn’t he do it again.
Noreen Nugeness
July 17, 2018 at 3:06 am
Let him Donate it! He owes it to the Pet Parents and the animals. He’s not an animal, he’s a Monster! I get so upset when people refer to these Monsters as “Animals.” No, animals are beautiful people in my eyes, they on the other hand are “Evil Monsters.” Don’t insult animals by calling them as such.
Jane Democracy
July 21, 2018 at 3:40 pm
So why haven’t Wilbur-Ellis and Diversified Ingredients executives received a similar fate?