By Patric Hedlund
Local markets report they do not carry meat products from a Southern California supplier targeted in an alert calling for destruction of over 143 million pounds of raw and frozen beef products. A United States Department of Agriculture advisory dated Sunday, Feb. 17 warned about beef slaughtered at the Hallmark/Westland Meat Packing Company since 2006. The Chino plant was shut down February 4.
The packer is the second largest supplier of ground beef to the National School Lunch Program. Schools nationwide were alerted to stop serving all dishes with ground beef, even those not supplied by Hallmark, because at-risk beef is difficult to isolate.
ETUSD Superintendent Shelly Mason said beef had been pulled from school menus since February 1. A spokesperson for Gorman School said there is no beef in their school meals either.
On Monday, Feb. 18, Robert DaLessio, who owns Rob’s Meats at Frazier Park Market, said, "We don’t carry any of their beef products or anything from their plants at all, so we are not affected."
Jim Jahoum, manager of Pine Mountain General Store also said his store does not sell Hallmark/Westland products. "We buy from Unified and U.S. Food and I’m certain I don’t have it here. Also, all the restaurants here in Pine Mountain get their beef from U.S. Food, Jordanas or Cisco," he said. Jack in the Box and In-N-Out Burger did use the supplier, reports indicate.
The Humane Society of the United States charged that Hallmark/Westland processed "downer" cattle. An undercover video recording-released to officials in November and to the public in late January- showed sick cattle, unable to walk, being shocked and prodded, rammed, beaten and harassed into the Hallmark slaughterhouse, contrary to federal regulations.
On Sunday, federal officials confirmed they had evidence such cattle had been processed for food and distributed by Westland/Hallmark.
According to the USDA, the majority of the meat involved in the recall from the company-including 37 involved in the recall from the company-including 37 million pounds that went to schools-has probably been eaten already. Officials said that danger to consumers was minimal.
Cows that are too sick to walk may be suffering from broken bones, which would not contaminate meat, or from a systemic ailment which could pose a health risk. For this reason, regulations require that "downer" cattle are to be removed from the food processing system.
Managers at Costco in Burbank received an email Sunday, Feb. 17 saying Westland had been a supplier, the Los Angeles Times reported.
It is unlikely that any of its fresh meat is still being sold, because Hallmark/ Westland suspended operations in early February. "It has a very [short] shelf life and refrigerator life, so the great majority has probably been consumed," Richard Raymond, the USDA’s undersecretary for food safety is reported to have said.
Restaurant chains, including In-N-Out Burger and Jack in the Box, are reported to have used Hallmark/ Westland meat. Both companies report they stopped using Westland beef after the first Humane Society reports of problems at the plant.
Meat from many companies is mixed as it goes through numerous processors, making it difficult for consumers to know whether meat products came from a particular plant.
In a USDA telephone briefing Sunday for retailers, school districts and food safety experts, a Costco representative raised concerns about beef that gets "commingled," Humane Society President Wayne Pacelle said, according to the L.A. Times. Pacelle participated in the conference call. He reported the Costco representative estimated that the amount of beef recalled may top a billion pounds.
This is part of the February 22, 2008 online edition of The Mountain Enterprise.
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