A Latina employee contaminated meat from the warehouse she was working in in New York

Photo: Nassau County Police Department / Courtesy

Karen Palacios Gutierrez, a Long Island (New York) woman who was a meatpacker, was arrested for allegedly handling food that was ready for retail consumption.

According to the Nassau County Police Department, on the night of August 25, the 38-year-old suspect from Hempstead was working for The Ava Companies in Hicksville and at one point took a coin out of her pocket and stuffed it into a package of meat ready for retail consumption.

A container of meat that was to be distributed to retailers was discarded, resulting in a loss of $400, according to authorities. But it is not clear if this is the first time that Palacios has done something like this.