Food Safety Violations – Penalty for Selling Expired Meat in Restaurants

Meat preparation at a restaurant

Food Safety Violations – Penalty for Selling Expired Meat in Restaurants

Every state in the US has strict food safety and violation codes that, if broken, can not only lead to heavy penalties but also jeopardize customers’ health. Food and safety laws are governed by authorities to keep food manufacturers, distributors, and other vendors in check.

Local counties are also continuously checking in on restaurants and food distributors to ensure food quality and make the vendors comply with all the standards set by the state.

Over 70 percent of diners are easily dissuaded from going to a restaurant due to poor hygiene. Expired food is one of the common food code violations due to storing it too long in the freezer or a problem with the refrigerator.

Who Can Be Sued?

As expired meat is not only a matter of food code violation, it also causes health issues for customers like food poisoning or allergies. This is why it’s vital to ensure that the meat is fresh and uncontaminated.

The violation of the code penalties depends on multiple parties or the source of the violation. In a restaurant setting, one or more parties are usually responsible for such penalties and are sued for not abiding by the food safety codes.

The following parties could be liable:

  • Food companies
  • Food manufacturers and distributors
  • Restaurant owners and other food servers
  • School cafes
  • Food carries like an airplane or a train

Consequences of Food Safety Violations

Here are a few penalties for selling or serving expired meat and other food code violations:

Civil Lawsuit

This lawsuit usually happens when the injured party, like a customer, sues the liable party. In this case, the business, such as the restaurant or the distributors, will have to pay for the medical fees, court fees, and other losses that the patron may have endured.

Covering the cost of damages for the injured patron is one of the most common consequences of food quality violations.

License Revocation

Another penalty that a business can suffer is license cancellation. Businesses like distributors and restaurants can have their licenses revoked if the authorities find them in violation of the food and safety codes.

License cancellation usually happens when a party violates the code more than once.

Loss of Employment

If an employee violates the code of food safety, such as a restaurant head chef who serves expired meat, it can lead to loss of employment.

Loss of employment can result from getting fired or the business shutting down.

Fines and Injunctions

A restaurant serving expired meat can also face fines, or a court of law can issue an injunction. An injunction refers to the change in the policy and safety practices of the business.

Fresh raw meat on ice

At LA Ice Machine, we provide rental services for commercial uses such as restaurants. Our ice machines never stop working, so you can rely on them to keep your food always fresh and prevent food safety violation problems.

We also offer ice machines for office use, Scotsman ice machine for sale, and Hoshizaki ice machine in LA.

Reach out to our expert technicians for more information!

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recent Post