Bad Beef Man|Has to Stay Home

LOS ANGELES (CN) — A Los Angeles-area man who falsely certified beef as free of E. coli bacteria — forcing the recall of 5.8 million pounds of beef products — was sentenced Monday to a year of house arrest and ordered to pay $308,000 in restitution.

Jim Johnson, 67, of Downey, pleaded guilty in November to a federal charge of falsifying a certificate of analysis.

Johnson falsified 111 certificates from 2009 to 2011, the U.S. Attorney's Office said, including at least one sample that he knew had tested positive for E. coli.

The USDA recalled 864,000 lbs. of beef products, then recalled another 4.9 million lbs. a month later, prosecutors said.

Johnson worked as a consultant for Hunting Meat Packing Co. in Montebello. Among its clients were Foster Farms and El Primo Foods.

U.S. Attorney Eileen Decker said Johnson's "crime endangered consumers throughout the country."

Escherichia coli is found in the intestines of most warm-blooded animals. Some strains, however, are pathogenic.

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