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Meat Industry Pushes for Recall Cutback
School lunch programs received big chunk of problematic beef
By Kevin Spak
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Posted Feb 22, 08 1:08 PM CST
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(Newser)
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The meat industry is trying to convince the USDA to ease up on the largest meat recall in the country's history, the Wall Street Journal reports. Government officials entertained the possibility of exempting products made up only partly of the recalled beef but apparently decided against relaxing the action. “The recall is as it was issued,” said a spokeswoman.
Some 50 million pounds of the 143 million pounds of recalled beef went to federal school-lunch programs. Like most of the rest of the meat, 20 million pounds have already been eaten, but 15 million pounds are missing. All of the meat that went to schools will be destroyed, even if the USDA relents and agrees to exempt some meat from the recall.