May 07, 2008 11:00 am
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Times-Tribune Staff Report
A former food service worker in Barbourville is facing up to 10 years in prison for putting a metal staple into a batch of meatloaf to be distributed to a national restaurant chain.
Joreen Crawford, 27, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in London on Monday to one count of tampering with a consumer product, resulting in a loss of about $1,200 for her employer.
The U.S. Attorney says Crawford admitted to putting a staple in the meatloaf on Jan. 17, 2007, hoping a co-worker would be blamed. A week following the incident, one of Crawford’s co-workers notified a supervisor about the incident. However, the meatloaf had already been shipped to the broker for nationwide distribution.
The supervisor immediately called the broker and recalled the entire shipment of 3,570 pounds of processed meatloaf. In February, a USDA investigator and Crawford’s supervisor used an X-ray machine to examine the meatloaf and discovered the clip/staple in one of the processed meatloafs.
The restaurant chain and the food company were not identified.
Crawford, who was indicted in February, is currently scheduled to appear for sentencing on Aug. 14 at 10 a.m. Crawford faces a maximum prison sentence of 10 years.
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