Beef recall is largest in history
Much of it likely consumed; no illnesses reported

The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced Sunday that a Californiameatpacking company had launched the recall of 143 million pounds of beef –the largest meat recall in U.S. history – following questions about thecompany’s treatment of cattle that were slaughtered even though they could notstand up (the size of the beef recall as published has been corrected in thissentence and in a subsequent reference in this text).
The recall by the Hallmark/Westland Meat Packing Co., in Chino, Calif.,covers meat produced since February 2006. USDA officials said that, given thenature of ground beef production and its shelf life, much of the recalled meathas likely already been consumed. Federal authorities said they don’t havesolid evidence of illnesses linked to the meat.
Hallmark/Westland sold at least 37 million pounds of meat to the nationalschool lunch program and other nutrition programs run by the USDA during thattime, according to department officials. The Hallmark/Westland plant has beenclosed because of a USDA investigation of the facility’s practices.
“I am dismayed at the inhumane handling of cattle that has resulted in theviolation of food safety regulations at the Hallmark/Westland Meat PackingCo.,” said Agriculture Secretary Ed Schafer.
USDA officials said Sunday that it is unclear how much of that meat hasbeen consumed or already removed from use by federal food programs.
The department also said in its recall notice the Hallmark meat was notavailable to consumers through retail grocery or meat markets, but instead wassold wholesale to food companies that used it to make ground beef and productssuch as burrito filling, meatballs and sausage.
The USDA did not disclose where those food products were sold. Schools inWashington state and California have removed beef from their lunch menusbecause they suspect it came from Hallmark/Westland.
Because of wholesale distribution, it is unclear how many products willhave to be recalled. USDA officials stressed that Sunday’s action was a “ClassII” recall, which means that there is a remote possibility of adverse healtheffects if the meat is consumed.
The beef industry has suffered through a difficult year of recalls, many ofthem caused by the presence of E. coli bacteria in ground beef. In September,Topps Meat Co. of New Jersey recalled 21.7 million pounds of frozen hamburgerpatties after people in New York and Florida fell ill because of E. colipoisoning. Topps later filed for bankruptcy because of that recall, whichinvolved a full year’s worth of production. The largest previous recallinvolved 35 million pounds of ready-to-eat meats in 1999.
While the Hallmark-Westland recall involves two years’ worth of production,the “Class II” designation means that the recall is a precaution because USDAregulations were not followed.
“In this one, we feel there is a very, very remote possibility of anyonesuffering any health consequences from the consumption of this product,” saidRichard Raymond, undersecretary for food safety.
The primary reason for the recall, Raymond said, was that an ongoinginvestigation has shown that the Hallmark plant violated USDA rules regardingthe treatment of downer cattle – animals that arrive at the slaughter plantbut cannot stand up because of an illness or injury.
Following the discovery of mad cow disease, or bovine spongiformencephalopathy, in the U.S. in 2003, the USDA forbid the slaughter of downercattle in an effort to reduce the chance of BSE entering the human food chain.
Those rules were relaxed slightly last year to allow USDA veterinarians todetermine on a case-by-case basis whether a downer cow couldn’t stand becauseof an injury, such as a broken leg, or because it was ill or diseased. Ill ordiseased animals must be condemned under USDA regulations.
Raymond said the downer cattle at the Hallmark/Westland plant were examinedby a USDA inspector when they were standing, but not again as required afterthey went down.
Schafer and other USDA officials said that it was “extremely unlikely” thatthe downer cattle slaughtered by Hallmark/Westland carried BSE. Raymond saidthat USDA has tested 750,000 cattle for BSE and only discovered two cases. TheUSDA, however, recently scaled back the level of BSE testing it conducts,citing a lack of BSE cases.
The USDA recall follows the disclosure last month of a video secretly tapedby the Humane Society of the United States. The video showed Hallmark/Westlandplant workers prodding downer cattle to get them to stand, and moving downercattle with machinery, such as a forklift.
Wayne Pacelle, the Humane Society’s president and chief executive officer,said the USDA recall would not have occurred if his group had not made thevideo.
A California prosecutor filed animal cruelty charges against two formerHallmark/Westland plant workers last week based on an investigation promptedby the video.
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143 million
Pounds of beef recalled
\37 million
Pounds of recalled beef sold to the national school lunch program and otherUSDA nutrition programs
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 shedges@tribune.com