Food inspectors are one of the oldest professions -- particularly in Bible lands.
According to a first century CE Jewish writer, Philo, priests of that era took no chances with sacrificial animals saying that Jewish priests examined the animals carefully "from head to foot" to ensure that they were not diseased in any way and "without spot or defect of any kind."
According to Bible scholars like E. P. Sanders this was ensured by a chit or clay seal that was attached to animals and birds accepted for sacrificial use -- after they had been carefully inspected for such blindness and other defects described in Leviticus 22. The T
A coin-sized clay found discovered in 2011 corroborates Sanders idea. This seal or chit archaeologists discovered was made somewhere between the first century B.C.E. and 70 C.E.
The two Aramaic words inscribed on it read: "Pure for God" Researchers believe that only animals and birds with such tags would be accepted for sacrifices to God for such sacrifices were to have "No defects at all."
The 22nd chapter of Leviticus has a fairly extensive list of things that would disqualify such animals and birds for sacrificial use.
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