Don't Get Taken By Door To Door Meat Sales

By: | News Channel 7
Published: August 05, 2009

Dr. Henry Ritchie is a retired psychiatrist. He says its hard to get much past him, but recently some scammers hit him hard. He says, "This truck came up that had a refrigerator type box on the back and out came this young man I recon he was about 25."
Dr. Ritchie says the man was selling meat from a company called American Meat Packing and since he'd bought stuff from door to door salesmen before he didn't think shelling out $98.00 would be a problem. He says, "For meat that was tasteless tough probably had been frozen more than a year is my opinion." According to the Better Business Bureau they've had several complaints about American Meat Packing the company says you can get an exchange if you don't like the meat but so far no one has been able to contact them. Dr. Ritchie says, "I should have known better." The United States Department of Agriculture says meat being sold door to door can be legitimate ,but you have to be careful. They recommend you ask for a brochure and read it. If you feel pressure for a quick sale, don't buy. Dr. Ritchie says, "There are the filets and strips I am saving to return to those people. " The USDA also say you should know your cuts of meat and ask to see proof the meat has been graded by the USDA. As for Dr. Ritchie, he just hopes no one else gets taken by this scam. He says, "We get a fair number of door to door sales people out here and most of them are pretty reasonable. I would say this man was not too bright, but he fooled me."
American Meat Packing has an "F" rating with the Better Business Bureau. They advise you to always check with them before any door-to-door purchase to make sure there's not any warnings you need to know about. Remember if a deal is too good to be true it probably is. If you have any questions this is the USDA'S Meat and Poultry Hotline. 1-888-674-6854. It is staffed by home economists, registered dietitians, and food technologists to answer your questions.