California slaughterhouse indicted for selling cancerous beef

Rancho Feeding Corp., a slaughterhouse in Petaluma, California, was indicted for selling beef from cancerous cows. The slaughterhouse also processed cattle carcasses that were condemned by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).

The indictment came last Thursday, and documents from Rancho Feeding Corp.'s suspension were unsealed Monday. The slaughterhouse was suspended in January following a global recall of 8.7 million pounds of beef.

Robert Singleton and Jesse Amaral Jr., the slaughterhouse owners, were charged with multiple felony counts. Among the counts was a charge for "conspiring to distribute adulterated, misbranded, and uninspected meat." The newly revealed documents allege that employees were told to swap the heads of cancerous cows with healthy cows to avoid suspicion.

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The owners, along with employees Eugene Corda and Felix Cabrera, could face 20 years in prison if they are convicted.