Can the USDA ever shut down a meat production company?

Slaughter Plant Closes After HSUS Video Prompts USDA Inspectors to Leave By Dan Flynn | January 28, 2014 A New Jersey company involved in the veal and lamb business for more than 65 years was forced to shut down last Friday when USDA inspectors left the building because of alleged inhumane practices going on inside. read more

Federal inspectors shut down a Butte meat processing plant Monday for sanitation violations, a government spokeswoman said. The U.S. Department of Agriculture suspended operations at Ranchland Packing Co., 1201 Centennial Ave., after inspectors found rodent and insect problems last week, said Amanda Eamich of the Food Safety Inspection Service. read more

USDA, discussed below, held that the USDA does not have the authority to shut down a meat-processing plant based on salmonella testing alone.] Undersecretary of food safety, USDA HACCP has injected process control, if you will, into the system. read more