To Our Valued Restaurant & Butcher Shop Customers

What have we learned through our investigation?

Our investigation concluded that all packaged meat products sold directly to consumers through eCommerce or to grocery stores were sourced from the Belcampo approved supply network (which includes our farm and carefully vetted partner farms with their own third-party certifications). This is additionally supported by routine oversight by the USDA and other third- party certifiers, and has been further confirmed by a recent (June 2021) independent inspection of our practices and chain of custody controls by Certified Humane®.

We verified that undisclosed external sourcing of meat products was limited to our Restaurant and Butcher Shop channels. Those sourcing issues were predominantly concentrated at the Santa Monica location. Overall, externally sourced meats which did not meet Belcampo quality standards represented <6% of the total value of all meats procured from the beginning of 2020 to the end of May 2021.

What happened?

As Belcampo has grown as a company, we have: added products; launched partnerships with other farms which share our vision, values, and quality standards and are part of our approved supply network; and expanded our distribution network. During the unprecedented disruptions of the Covid-19 global pandemic, our business experienced rapid and significant operational changes. Limitations on indoor dining, supply chain disruptions, a rapid increase in demand for take-out and delivery, and staff furloughs or layoffs particularly impacted our Restaurant and Butcher Shop locations.

We apologize to our customers. Our single highest priority as a company is to take responsibility for the situation, ensure it never happens again and regain our customers’ trust.

What are we doing to ensure this never happens again?

Since May 24, 2021, any and all Restaurant and Butcher Shop sourcing of meat from outside Belcampo’s approved supply network has ceased, and all meat supplied and sold at our Restaurants and Butcher Shops is provided via Belcampo’s approved supply network, which is inspected and regulated by the USDA, Certified Humane ® and other certifying bodies.

Since May 31st, 2021, we have instituted a policy of issuing refunds to all customers who believe they may have been affected by external sourcing issues. Please visit or call any Belcampo location, or send us an email at our dedicated address ([email protected]), to request a refund.

The following action plan will be implemented:

    1. Developing a centralized, approved external purchasing list, with strict controls. External purchasing would occur only when supply is not available from the Belcampo internal supply chain and is properly disclosed. Sourcing will be subject to a monthly audit, with the stated goal of 100% compliance.

    2. Hiring a full-time Belcampo compliance officer to conduct regular audits and oversee purchasing, menu, labeling and claims integrity at all Restaurant locations.

    3. Conducting mandatory training and testing on external purchasing standards and processes for all current and new employees, including periodic updates and refresher training. This training, including detailed reviews tied to the 100% compliance goal, will be required as part of employee onboarding.

    4. Providing updated display and menu labeling onsite and online to inform customers of product claims consistent with our standards.

    5. Taking further steps to foster a company culture where issues are raised and disclosed in a timely and transparent manner. We cannot emphasize enough how seriously we are taking these issues and ensuring that we can state with confidence they have been fully addressed. We thank our employees for their continued commitment to the vision, values, and standards behind the Belcampo brand. To our customers, we appreciate your continued support of our mission and look forward to serving you in the future.

Since May 31st, 2021, we have instituted a policy of issuing refunds to all customers who believe they may have been affected by external sourcing issues. If you believe you were affected by this incident, please visit https://belcampomeatco.com/refund to request a refund.