US regulators kept the border open to Brazilian beef for months after a bribery scandal exposed rotten meat, bad news for American shoppers and cattle ranchers alike.

• Brazilian inspectors were bribed to wave through spoiled and tainted meat by the billions of pounds.
• China, Chile and other countries shut their ports to Brazilian beef within three days.
• The US took 97 days to act, and was the only country that left its border open the whole time.
• Al Almanza, who ran the USDA arm that decides which meat gets in, later went to work for the same industry caught moving that meat.
• The gap let millions of pounds of questionable beef into the American food supply.

Outlook: Expect more pressure on the revolving door between US food regulators and the companies they oversee.