A Chicago food distribution firm, Hop Kee, and its CEO Thomas M. Lam were sentenced in a federal court for violating federal food safety inspection laws administered by the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), said the FSIS earlier this week.

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The defendants stored approximately 98,000 pounds of meat and poultry products under unsanitary conditions and sold adulterated poultry products in commerce. An additional 87,000 pounds of food products under the jurisdiction of FDA were also held under unsanitary conditions, causing them to become adulterated. These conditions included being around live and dead rats, cockroaches, birds, as well as rodent nests, excreta and rodent-gnawed food products.


In the US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, CEO Thomas M. Lam was sentenced on two misdemeanour counts for storing adulterated poultry and food products. He was placed on probation for one year, fined US$2,928, and ordered to perform 100 hours of community service.


Hop Kee, Inc. was sentenced on the same two misdemeanours, plus a felony count for selling adulterated poultry. Hop Kee pleaded guilty in federal court on 26 September last year, and was ordered to serve four years’ probation, pay special assessment fees of US$650, and pay a US$300,000 fine.


This legal action, which took place on 13 March, is the result of the first joint prosecution between FSIS and FDA under a 1999 Memorandum of Understanding that was established to permit more efficient use of resources between the two food safety agencies and to improve public health protection.

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Also participating in the investigation were officials from the Illinois Departments of Agriculture, the Illinois Department of Public Health, and the Chicago Public Health Department.