Officials say 4-year-old pork was served to students

ROGERSVILLE, Tenn. — Some Hawkins County students were served roast pork last week that was 4-6 years old, sparking outrage by a few local officials, and prompting the Board of Education to set a committee meeting to discuss the issue.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture says frozen food remains safe indefinitely, although the USDA does have a quality chart. The quality chart recommends no more than four to 12 months for roasts and uncooked meat.

There have been no complaints of sickness resulting from pork roast served last Wednesday, April 22, in Hawkins County school cafeterias, but the quality of the food has been called into question by some county commissioners.

Hawkins County Commissioner Michael Herrell told the Times-News Monday that he received a call from a school cafeteria worker last week reporting that this person’s particular school had served frozen pork roast last Wednesday that was dated from 2010.

“Some schools had 2009, some schools had 2011, and some schools had 2010,” Herrell said. “(Herrell’s source said) the smell was so bad, it was just unbearable.”

Herrell’s said his source told him the smell was so bad they poured gravy over it to try to hide the odor. He also objected to the cooking process, as it was reported to him by his cafeteria employee source.

The roast was set out Friday, and it thawed Friday, Saturday and Sunday, Herrell said.

They cooked it Monday, and then put it back in the refrigerator. They brought it back out Tuesday and sliced it, and then put it back in the refrigerator.

“Wednesday they got it back out, warmed it up again, and they said that when they warmed it back up the smell was so bad you wouldn’t believe it,” Herrell said.

One elementary school received pork dated 2009, cooked it and then changed the menu because school administrators didn't like the smell. That meat was older than some of the students it was almost served to.