Mad Cow: Schools stop use of beef from slaughterhouse under investigation
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
February 11, 2008
Area: Atlanta
Georgia schools have put on hold 178,000 pounds of beef that came from a California slaughterhouse under federal investigation for allegations that it processed cattle at higher risk of mad cow disease.
Those animals, known as downer cattle because they are unable to walk, are banned from the food supply.
The investigation so far has found no evidence that downer cattle were processed into beef destined for schools in 38 states and federal hunger relief programs, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The investigation at the plant is continuing.
Twenty-four Georgia school districts, including Clayton, Cobb, DeKalb, Fulton and Gwinnett counties, received the beef, according to the state Department of Education.
Some of the beef, which is used in everything from spaghetti sauce to taco fillings, was served to students before the agriculture department placed an administrative hold on the meat on Jan. 30, according to the state Department of Education.
Schools and a processor still have a total of 220,000 pounds left from the original shipment of 378,000 pounds. The Department of Human Resources, which received an additional 40,000 pounds of beef last summer to funnel to emergency food assistance programs, has distributed much of what it received.
The agriculture department has stopped operations at Hallmark/Westland Meat Packing Co. while it investigates allegations the plant handled cattle inhumanely and processed downer cattle. The department ordered all meat from the plant bought for federal food and nutrition programs held through Tuesday, Feb. 19, while it continues its investigation.
The investigation started after an investigator for the Humane Society of the United States videotaped plant employees poking sick cows with a forklift, shocking them and turning high-power hoses on the animals. The department has substantiated the animal welfare organization's claims of inhumane treatment. It suspended operations at the facility on Feb. 4, after investigators found "egregious" violations of handling regulations, according to Richard Raymond, the department's undersecretary for food safety. The plant won't reopen until operators come up with a plan to ensure cattle will be handled and slaughtered humanely.
The meat is on hold until authorities conclude the investigation and either release the beef for schools and other federal food programs to serve, or order it destroyed. The beef patties and other products sent to schools can't be tested for the prions that signal the presence of mad cow disease. To check for bovine spongiform encephalopathy, scientists check a specific area of a cow's brain most likely to accumulate the prions.
Fulton County schools have 840 cases of beef crumbles made from Hallmark/Westland meat in a warehouse, said Fulton communications director Kirk Wilks. Crumbles are cooked ground meat that is added to other foods, such as spaghetti sauce.
DeKalb has a similar amount of meat on hold, Bowers said. The county has substituted other items on its menus to replace the beef, and turned to meat suppliers who don't buy from Westland, said DeKalb schools spokesman Dale Davis.
The meat was shipped to Georgia between October 2007 and January 2008. The agriculture department put the beef on administrative hold on Jan. 30. Gwinnett schools served some of the meat before it was placed on hold, spokeswoman Sloan Roach said. Fulton and DeKalb spokesmen said their districts had not served any of the meat to students before the order.
Other metro districts with stocks of the meat include Clayton, with 1,100 cases; Gwinnett, with 900 ; and Cobb, with 370, said Bowers.
The Georgia Department of Human Resources also received 40,000 pounds of meat from Hallmark/Westland, which it distributed through a federal emergency food assistance program. Much of the beef was sent out last summer, and the remaining cases are on hold, said department spokeswoman Taka Wiley.
It's unclear how schools or the state would be reimbursed for costs associated with holding the beef. If schools must order beef from other sources to fill in menu gaps while the Hallmark product is on hold, the cost will come out of district budgets for now, Bowers said.
In a conference call with reporters last week, an agriculture department official said it's still too early in the investigation to determine what reimbursement might be available for schools, processors and others who incur costs because of the hold.
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