Department of Justice (DOJ) Inspector General Michael E. Horowitz announced today the release of a Management Advisory Memorandum to the Director of the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) identifying concerns with BOP’s procurement of food products.
This memorandum arises out of multiple DOJ OIG investigations identifying instances in which vendors have provided the BOP with substandard products. For example, in 2019, in the Northern District of Texas, two individuals affiliated with West Texas Provisions, Inc., of Amarillo, Texas, pleaded guilty to charges related to providing $1 million of adulterated meat, including whole cow hearts labeled as “ground beef,” to 32 BOP institutions. The scheme involved more than 775,000 pounds of uninspected, misbranded, or adulterated meat.
During this and other OIG investigations, we found that the BOP does not have a protocol in place to ensure its supply is safe and meets contractual requirements. Additionally, we found that the BOP does not always properly document or communicate food vendor quality issues.
Based on our investigations, the OIG makes three recommendations to the BOP to help ensure that food products meet contract specifications and do not endanger the health of inmates and staff.
Memorandum: The memorandum released today is available on the OIG’s website under “Recent Reports,” and at the following link: https://oig.justice.gov/reports/2020/i20029.pdf
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