MATTAPAN, Mass. (WHDH) — A Mattapan supermarket was cited by the city after a goat’s carcass was seen being brought in to be butchered.
Boston Inspectional Services said America’s Food Basket was given a violation notice after the agency received a complaint following a video of the carcass being brought into the store. The agency said the video was posted on YouTube Saturday and showed the meat being unloaded from a pickup truck and taken in the store by an employee.
A spokeswoman for Boston Inspectional Services says butchering and processing meat for private parties is not allowed.
A formal hearing was held Tuesday at the Inspectional Services Department.
“We were all unaware of where this actual carcass actually came from, which is totally not acceptable,” Boston Inspectional Services Commissioner William Christopher said.
Store officials said the goat was being butchered for a customer. None of the meat was sold was in the store. Store managers said this is something they have been doing for years.
“Mostly what we cut is like old turkey that they bring or dry fish, that they bring to the store, goat is very, very rare,” said a store manager.
Health officials told the store manager that is illegal and dangerous.
“The risk is contamination,” Christopher said. “We have no idea where this carcass came from, we don’t know what conditions it was cleaned under, therefore if that’s brought in and then used wth machinery and blades and associated utensils that would then be used for the food for public consumption, that becomes a major issue for us.”
The store manager said he is “embarrassed” by the video and apologized. He promised to stop the practice.
“It was a service but since Saturday we discontinued it in all the stores,” said the store manager. City officials did not penalize the store, saying they are more interested in compliance than punishment.
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