Source: Tom Johnston, MEATINGPLACE, 5/26/16


Hormel Foods Corp. said Wednesday it is suspending The Maschhoffs LLC as a pig supplier while Hormel investigates alleged animal cruelty videotaped by the Animal Legal Defense Fund (ALDF) at a Maschhoffs pig breeding facility in Nebraska.

The ALDF released the undercover footage on Wednesday. The group said it has contacted Attorneys General Doug Peterson of Nebraska and Lisa Madigan of Illinois, where The Maschhoffs corporate headquarters is located, and asked them to open investigations into allegations including consumer fraud and unfair business practices stemming from animal mistreatment.

Formal complaints are likely to follow, the group said.

Austin, Minn.-based Hormel released a statement the same day, pointing to its “strict supplier code of conduct and policies relating to animal care.”

“We will not tolerate any violation of these policies. As such, we have issued a suspension of all the Maschhoffs LLC Nebraska sow operations while a thorough investigation is completed.”

Hormel said it has sent third-party auditors to these Nebraska farms and to additional Maschhoff sites to verify our its animal care standards are being followed.

“We expect, and have been assured, that the Maschhoffs LLC will cooperate with authorities in any criminal investigation or prosecution,” Hormel said in its statement.

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