JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (Legal Newsline) - Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster announced a $50,000 settlement on Tuesday with a St. Louis-area butcher shop that allegedly mislabeled products as ground beef when the products contained ground hearts of cattle.
Under the terms of the settlement, John's Butcher Shoppee agreed to pay $50,000 to the state of Missouri. The shop also agreed to submit to unannounced inspections by the Missouri Department of Agriculture and label all products correctly. The St. Louis-area butcher must also submit samples at any time to the Missouri Department of Agriculture.
"Consumers must be able to trust that food products they purchase are what the seller and manufacturer have advertised," Koster said. "My office will continue to protect consumers by pursuing any food manufacturer who misrepresents our local food supply."
Koster filed a lawsuit in June 2011 against John's Butcher Shoppee, Michael Kolish, the company's president, and Tomas Kolish, the company's secretary.
The settlement with the defendants resolves the lawsuit and covers the company's stores in Festus and Overland, in addition to any other business operated by Thomas and Michael Kolish.
Koster credited the Missouri Department of Agriculture for its work in identifying soy and unlabeled heart muscle in the products sold by John's Butcher Shoppee.
Butcher shop settles with Mo. AG Koster
ORGANIZATIONS IN THIS STORY