A federal judge has fined a London cattle wholesaler after federal officials said questions were raised about unsafe antibiotic residue in the beef.
The Lexington Herald-Leader said Williams Cattle Co. agreed in an earlier case to take steps to try to prevent the problem. A federal grand jury last year accused the company of giving false information to food-safety regulators under the agreement. Charges against the company treasurer were dismissed.
The total fine was $75,000, but the company's lawyer, David S. Hoskins, said U.S. District Judge Amul Thapar suspended $50,000 of that for two years. A prosecutor had sought a $100,000 fine.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration alleged in 2006 that the company sold cows with unsafe levels of residue from antibiotics in their tissue.