Amid personnel turmoil, plunging stock, 'Beyond Meat' factory reportedly sees food safety issues

Beyond Meat, the onetime-superstar of the meat replacement industry, is continuing to see major turmoil as reports surface of significant food safety issues at a major production plant in Pennsylvania. 

Bloomberg reported this week that "a former employee concerned about conditions at the plant" near Philadelphia shared photos with the publication showing "apparent mold, Listeria and other food-safety issues," including improper use of equipment. 

The photographs viewed by Bloomberg showed "what appear to be spills, unsafe use of equipment, and mold on walls and ingredient containers," the outlet said, while "spreadsheets, photos and internally prepared reports reveal that foreign materials such as string, metal, wood and plastic have been found in food from the plant at least as recently as last December."

Beyond Meat told Bloomberg that Pennsylvania inspectors "found no instances of nonconformance with regulations" in inspections throughout the past year. 

The negative publicity from the report comes amid several other difficult business crises for the company. 

Earlier this year CEO Doug Ramsey departed the company after getting in a violent altercation in which he allegedly bit part of a man's ear off. 

The company has also seen plunging stocks over roughly the past two years, falling from just under $200 per share in October of 2020 to just under $13 per share this week.