The lawyer for one of the owners of Rancho Feeding Corp., the Petaluma slaughterhouse that is under criminal investigation for allegedly killing and selling tainted beef, said Wednesday the company is cooperating with federal authorities and asks that local ranchers who got caught up in the scandal be allowed to sell their meat.
On Feb. 8, the U.S. Department of Agriculture recalled 8.7 million pounds of beef slaughtered at the facility, saying that the agency was concerned that "diseased" meat had entered the marketplace and that there was a "reasonable probability of serious, adverse health consequences or death."
Federal agents are looking into possible criminal charges against Rancho. However, ranchers who used the plant for custom slaughtering and are not part of the probe have gotten swept up in the recall because of concerns that diseased meat commingled with healthy beef.
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