USDA orders largest beef recall ever

USDA orders largest beef recall ever Launching the largest beef recall in U.S. history, the Department of Agriculture on Sunday ordered the recall of 143 million pounds of frozen beef produced by a Southern California slaughterhouse over the past two years.
   Government officials accuse the Westland/Hallmark Meat Co. in Chino with violating health regulations by routinely slaughtering cows not able to move under their own power and mixing their meat in with meat from healthy cows.
   California and federal law prohibit the processing of meat from so-called downer cows — those not able to stand on their own power — for use in the general food supply.
   While no illness have been linked to the possibly tainted meat and health officials said the likelihood of illness is low, the USDA has ordered schools and other government food programs to cease serving meat from the firm. Government officials estimate that 37 million pounds of meat from the firm went to school programs, and that most of it has already been eaten. The recall covers frozen beef produced by Westland/Hallmark since Feb. 1, 2006.
   USDA officials said Sunday they now have evidence that the firm follows health regulation by contacting veterinarians regarding cows that had already passed inspection but were not able to stand shortly before processing. Health officials have said that downer cows are more likely to carry a wide range of diseases, such as salmonella, E. coli and bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or mad-cow disease.
   “Because the cattle did not receive complete and proper inspection, Food Safety and Inspection Service has determined them to be unfit for human food and the company is conducting a recall,” Agriculture Secretary Ed Schafer said in a statement issued Sunday.
   The USDA has shuttered the firm until it can submit a plan to guarantee the humane treatment of processed animals.
   The closure and recall follow an earlier government order for the firm to cease operations at the facility. The suspension of operations order resulted from a Humane Society video secretly shot in October and November revealed crippled and sick cows at the Chino facility being hauled to the slaughterhouse by forklifts.
   The video also showed Westland/Hallmark employees kicking, shocking and abusing downer cows. Two former Westland/Hallmark employees were charged Friday in an Inland Empire court with charges ranging from misdemeanors to felony animal cruelty. The firm has not been charged, but a federal investigation is ongoing.