Chino, CAIn a recall of staggering proportions, the US Department of Agriculture announced Sunday that 143 million pounds of ground beef have been recalled, easily representing the largest meat recall in US history.
The recall, being carried out by the Westland/Hallmark Meat Company based in Chino, California, easily dwarfs the huge Topps beef recall of 2007, and tops the previous record by the widest of margins—that of the Thorne Apple Valley recall of 1999, when 35 million pounds of meat were recalled.
If there is any good news at all here, it is that the recall is considered a Class II, which is lower on the risk scale. The Topps recall, in comparison, and other previous recalls which involve E. coli, posed a much more significant risk and were given Class I status.
Indeed, this recall has more to do with alleged mistreatment of animals by workers at the Westland/Hallmark plant, and the lack of due diligence when an animal destined for the human food chain is deemed to be ill, or suspected of illness.
And in spite of the mammoth proportions of the recall, health officials report that there have been no, known health effects or reports of illness from eating the meat which, according to Dr. Richard Raymond, the under secretary for food safety at the USDA, "the great majority has probably been consumed."
However, even beyond the fact that much of the meat is still out there, in freezers and could potentially, prove harmful, the fact that much of the meat in question went to school lunch programs and was consumed by children, is particularly disturbing.
What's more, the recall signals that the USDA still has a long way to go when it comes to the inspection, and the supervision of activities related to companies charged with the responsibility of providing safe, disease-free food products for the consumer.
The US Department of Agriculture, the regulatory body charged with riding shotgun over the country's meat industry, came under fire last year over the Topps meat recall. While 2007 was, admittedly a banner year for recalls—21 related to the deadly E coli pathogen in 2007, compared with 8 the year prior and five in 2005—the USDA was found to be wanting in many areas, including the delay in ordering the Topps recall in the first place, which came weeks after Topps was identified as the source for an E coli outbreak in several states over the summer of 2007.
Additionally, conditions at the Topps plant were said to be lax and safety protocols in disarray, including the mixing of different lots of meat. The latter practice makes it harder to track E. coli, and actually can foster and spread the pathogen by mixing tainted meat in with good meat.
This, in spite of regular interventions by USDA inspectors.
This latest recall was sparked by a now-sensational piece of video making the rounds on You Tube and other sites. Distributed by the Humane Society of the United States January 30th, the undercover video shows plant workers at the California meat plant kicking animals, and using forklifts to force them to walk.
While on the surface this may appear to be a case of cruelty to animals, the suggestion of a sick animal can have far-reaching consequences.
For example, a cow that has trouble standing, or cannot walk properly could be a candidate for Mad Cow disease, or other maladies that would make the animal in question unfit for the human food chain.
Bovine spongiform encephalopathy is a fatal disease that eats away at the brain. There have been three confirmed cases of Mad Cow disease in cattle, in the US, since 2003.
Cows that can't walk are banned from the food supply because of this very risk. Existing inspection protocol dictates that USDA inspectors on SD, or Slaughter Day, inspect all animals. If an animal is seen to be unable to walk, either immediately prior or at slaughter, employees at the slaughterhouse are required by law to summon a USDA veterinarian. The veterinarian, in turn, then has the discretion to determine if the animal is fit to be slaughtered. If not, then the animal is rejected, and does not become a part of the human food chain.
That's what is supposed to happen. However, USDA officials contend that employees of Westland/Hallmark failed to notify the proper authorities when animals were shown to be unable to walk, or move about on their own.
Two employees of the Westland/Hallmark plant—presumably depicted in the video—were terminated by the company, and have been charged with cruelty to animals.
As a result of alleged failure to notify officials of the presence of 'downer cows' the plant was deemed by the Department of Agriculture Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) to be in contravention of FSIS regulation, and therefore the food produced would have been interpreted as being unfit for human consumption.
While industry officials maintain that there is little chance a serious disease such as Mad Cow disease could enter the human food chain (the brains, and spinal cords of the animals are not used), it is little comfort for the consumer increasingly losing faith in the industry given the task of producing and processing the food supply, and the inspectors charged with the responsibility of enforcing regulations.
This latest recall, so gigantic in scope that it will likely never be equaled, represents everything the plant has produced since February 1st of 2006—a two-year supply. Of the recalled 143 million pounds, 37 million went into the production of hamburgers, chili and tacos for school lunch programs, and other federal nutrition programs.
That, in itself, beats the old record of 35 million pounds of beef recalled in 1999—involving just the products destined for federal nutrition programs alone.
Federal officials stress that this recall, while massive in scope, is more precautionary and is not tied to any report of illness or disease. However the bigger issue, all will concede, is the failure of the inspection process to ensure the safety of the food supply.
In fairness to the industry, this is just one more company that has joined the ranks of companies such as the now-defunct Topps Meat Co. accused of, or found to have been lacking in process and protocol when it comes to inspections and due diligence. Many more plants are properly up to snuff. However, the buck has to stop somewhere, and just as there will always be those individuals tempted to skirt around the limits of the law, police officers are there to protect law-abiding citizens from those who would otherwise take advantage.
Likewise, the 7800 food inspectors patrolling some 6200 plants are the food processing police. Such recalls, and others before it, suggest that inspectors need to be more diligent, or the system needs more of them.
"The recall is obviously the big news," said Wayne Pacelle, president and chief executive of the Humane Society, in comments appearing this morning in the New York Times.
"The longer-term problem is the inadequacies of the inspection system. How can so many downers have been mistreated day after day within a U.S.D.A. oversight system that was present at the plant?
"We need more boots on the ground at the plants."
And—perhaps more faith in the good old, 'USDA Choice' label. At the moment, it is emerging as a liability, rather than an endorsement.
Last year the USDA suspended 66 plants. Twelve were found to be in violation of humane handling protocols.
If you or a loved one has suffered damages in this beef recall, please contact a lawyer involved in a possible [Westland/Hallmark Beef Recall Lawsuit] to review your case at no cost or obligation.