The U.S. Bureau of Prisons, in charge of 122 federal penitentiaries with 206,000 inmates, eliminated pork from prison menus at the start of the month, says the Washington Post. A spokesman told the Post the decision was based on a survey of food preferences. “Pork has been the lowest-rated foof by inmates for several years,” said spokesman Edmond Ross. The National Pork Producers Council, which represents hog farmers, said it would try to reverse the decision. Spokesman Dave Warner said it was hard to believe a majority of prisoners would turn down bacon.
Prison commissaries will continue to sell packages of pork rinds and precooked bacon, said the Post. Turkey bacon is on the prison menu as a substitute for bacon. The Bureau of Prisons said along with declining popularity, pork products have risen in prices in the past couple of years. The Post credited the Fort Worth (Texas) Star-Telegram as being first with the no-pork story. The Star-Telegram said the local county jail took pork off its menu 15 years ago but the Texas Department of Corrections, with its own processing plant, serves pork links, pork patties, pork shoulders and ham to state prisoners.