Mystery Meat Crackdown

No, not on that mystery meat they served you in the school cafeteria, but on illegal meat being sold in stores. The AP is reporting that the New York State Division of Food Safety and Inspection has stepped up efforts to prevent illicit meats from being distributed and sold. The problem, according to the Division of Food Safety, is that many markets acquire meats from unregulated sources and sell them to the city's immigrant populations.

Meat from animals such as turtles, frogs, iguana and armadillos can be sold provided the meat is processed in a licensed and inspected facility. Unfortunately, those facilities are few and far between. Through September the state had siezed 1.6 million pounds of food such as armadillos, iguana, cow's lungs, and smoked rodent and got injunctions to close down 72 stores. Inspectors even occasionally find meat from endangered species, which are illegal to harvest and eat, such as chimpanzee and gorilla.

Uninspected meat has a much higher chance of spreading salmonella or botulism. Immigrant groups are more susceptible because markets catering to them are either unfamiliar with stricter U.S. meat inspection laws or flout them to meet the demand of their customers.

If you can get your hands on some legal monkey and gopher meat Gothamist has found the perfect recipe for you.

Frog Legs Rag from the Indiana University Sheet Music Collection.