Lawrence restaurant defends employee after viral video shows meat chopped on ground
A state food safety inspector responded to a Lawrence restaurant Sunday after a video surfaced on social media over the weekend showing an employee processing meat on the ground outside the business.
The restaurant, the Lawrence location for Tryyaki, at 701 W. 23rd St., pushed back on criticism it received, saying the meat was being prepared for personal use by employees and pointing to a clean inspection Sunday.
“We are aware of a recent video circulating online that misrepresents our restaurant and the food we serve,” restaurant management said in a Facebook post Sunday evening. “The video shows an employee handling a pork carcass outside, with a caption suggesting that this is food served to our customers. We want to be absolutely clear: this claim is entirely false.”
The restaurant did not respond to a message seeking comment Tuesday.
In the video, a person can be seen squatting down outside the restaurant and using a tool to strike the meat, which was on the ground before being tossed into a container.
The original video posted by Greg Watkins on Facebook Saturday evening had amassed 45,000 views as of mid-day Tuesday.
“See that’s just (expletive),” a person says in the video. “This is why we get sick, this son of a (expletive) is chopping meat out on the concrete.”
The inspector with the Kansas Department of Agriculture responded Sunday to investigate a complaint about “raw meat possibly being adulterated due to cutting on unapproved surfaces,” according to a restaurant inspection report.
While the inspector found no violations during the inspection, he wrote, “Extensive education was provided regarding unapproved foods and sources.”
He said all knives were cleaned and sanitized during the inspection, and an exterior part of the restaurant was cleaned.
“After observing the establishment and speaking with the owner; it was verified that the meat in question was being cut by an employee off duty for personal use,” the inspector wrote.
In his report, the inspector wrote that the meat was raw pork, which was not on the restaurant’s menu. He indicated he found boxes for the meat in a dumpster and said the meat was no longer at the business.
Restaurant management said the video showed an employee handling pork not intended for customers and prepared separately by some employees for their personal consumption. Tryyaki said it has never had pork on its menu in its 20 years in business.
The restaurant said the meat is cooked at the end of the night separate from kitchen equipment and utensils used for customer foods.
“While this practice is safe when properly cooked, we would never serve this to our customers,” the restaurant said.
“We deeply regret any confusion or concern this misleading video may have caused,” the restaurant’s statement continued. “Trust and integrity are at the heart of what we do, and we remain fully committed to providing safe, delicious, and high-quality meals to everyone who dines with us.”
This story was originally published December 17, 2024 at 4:25 PM.
