Westland Beef RecallLearning Support :

February 19, 2008 – On Sunday, February 17, 2008, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) recalled approximately 143 million pounds of beef that originated at the Westland/Hallmark Meat Company plant in California. A portion of this meat was sold under USDA contracts to Federal nutrition programs.

The Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) has been communicating with schools since January 31, 2008, with instructions for placing this product on administrative “Hold”. The initial “Hold” was expanded by the USDA to a Class II “Recall”. A Class II Recall is a health hazard situation where there is remote probability of adverse health consequences from the use of this product. According to USDA, the recall determination was made as a result of USDA's ongoing investigation. Evidence was obtained by the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), that Westland/Hallmark engaged in the practice of occasionally slaughtering cattle that, although the cattle passed ante-mortem inspection, became non-ambulatory prior to entering the slaughter operation, an action that is not compliant with FSIS regulations.

The USDA states that the commodity recall will be in two stages:

  Stage I is for product already on hold.

  Stage II will be for product received between February 1, 2006 and October 1, 2006.
  A separate announcement covering the Stage II product will be forthcoming.

All Hallmark/Westland products, including further-processed commodity products containing any amount of Hallmark/Westland meat must be destroyed. School systems that follow the USDA protocols will be reimbursed for the cost of destroying the recalled beef.

There is a large portion of the beef in question that was served to students before the USDA issued its hold. USDA officials stress that there is a very low risk of illness, since Westland did put its cattle through the required pre-slaughter screening.

Media and consumers with recall questions should contact -
Plant Manager Stan Mendell or Food Safety Consultant Steve Sayer at (909) 590-3340.

Consumers with food safety questions can "Ask Karen," the FSIS virtual representative available 24 hours a day at AskKaren.gov. The toll-free USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline 1-888-MPHotline (1-888-674-6854) is available in English and Spanish and can be reached from l0 a.m. to 4 p.m. (Eastern Time) Monday through Friday. Recorded food safety messages are available 24 hours a day.

Links to more information:

• Read the statement from Secretary of Agriculture Ed Schafer on the recall
• Questions and Answers on the beef recall
• Read the Food Safety and Inspection Services Press Release on the recall

Minnesota Specific Documents are provided below: