A meat cutter, fired in June for grinding beef in a machine containing remnants of pork, got his job back after a state arbitrator ruled this month that the violation of policy was unintentional.

Robert Poppler, 47, a 25-year employee of Rainbow Foods with no record of disciplinary action, was working at the East Lake Street store in Minneapolis when a visiting employee from Milwaukee noticed and reported the mistake. Poppler stated that he had forgotten that the store's only meat grinder contained remnants of pork. The trouble with combining pork and beef without a customer's knowledge is that the minimum safe cooking temperature for pork is 170 degrees, 10 degrees higher than for beef. Also, the store serves many Islamic customers, who, like many Jewish people, obey a religious prohibition against eating pork. Poppler said he noticed the mistake on his own and was going to throw the ground beef away and sanitize the grinder. While none of the mingled meat made it to the store shelves, the company said Poppler couldn't be trusted. The arbitrator ordered Poppler reinstated with seniority and partial back pay. Read the full state decision here.