California Beef Recall

Stories

14 Stories

March 2008
- New Methods Help Make Beef Jerky Safer
  
  LiveScience | Mar 27, 08 3:08 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Good news for meat lovers in a time of massive beef recalls: Researchers at Kansas State have found a way to make beef jerky safer from E. coli and salmonella, LiveScience reports. They found that a longer drying time would eliminate the pathogens in contaminated beef samples, offering a low-cost way for producers to comply with federal standards. More »
- Meat Company Chief Admits Sick Cows Were Slaughtered
  
  Los Angeles Times | Mar 12, 08 3:51 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - The president of the California slaughterhouse caught up in a scandal over the abuse of cattle admitted to Congress today that sick cows from his plant entered the food supply, the Los Angeles Times reports. He backtracked from an earlier denial after a House panel made him watch a second undercover video. "Obviously my system broke down," said Steve Mendell of Westland/Hallmark Meat. More »
February 2008
- Cattle Horror Worker: Just 'Following Orders'
  
  Wall Street Journal | Feb 29, 08 4:11 AM CST
  
  (Newser) - A worker shown in a shocking undercover video jabbing apparently sick cows to their feet for slaughter was following orders from management, his lawyer said yesterday. The attorney made the accusation as he negotiated with federal investigators to work out a plea deal for his client, reports the Wall Street Journal. The video triggered a record recall of 143 million pounds of beef from the Hallmark/Westland California operation because such "downer" cows can be a source of mad cow disease. More »
- Disgraced Meatpacker to Close Doors
  
  Wall Street Journal | Feb 23, 08 12:34 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - The biggest meat recall in history will put a fork in Hallmark/Westland, the meatpacker’s general manager told the Wall Street Journal. “I don’t see any way we could reopen,” he said. The USDA has said the California company could reopen under the right conditions, but demands that it pay for the meat’s destruction and replacement. “If the USDA wants payment back, we’re dead meat. We’re done.” More »
- Meat Industry Pushes for Recall Cutback
  
  Wall Street Journal | Feb 22, 08 1:08 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - 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. More »
- Meat Safety at Risk, Warn Overwhelmed Inspectors
  
  Associated Press | Feb 22, 08 5:50 AM CST
  
  (Newser) - Government inspectors say staff shortages are making it impossible for them to do their jobs properly and that sick cows could be getting into the food supply, reports AP. With staffing levels so low, inspectors are forced to quickly scan hundreds of animals to spot signs of illness like drooping ears, while slaughterhouse workers who warn each other with walkie-talkies try to steer them away from problem areas. More »
- School Officials Think Risk from Beef Recall is Low
  
  Vermont Public Radio | Feb 21, 08
  
  143 million pounds of frozen ground beef was recalled nationally over the weekend. And 40,000 pounds of it was delivered to Vermont schools and child care centers.
- Picky Eater Decodes the Beef Scare
  
  Newsweek | Feb 20, 08 5:53 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - Don't fault slaughterhouse workers for this week's enormous beef recall, author and foodie Michael Pollan tells Newsweek —it's the system. Blinding-fast production lines that expect workers to slaughter up to seven cows per minute do not a safe or ethical steak make. "It's one of those episodes that peels back the curtain on how our food is prepared," Pollan says. More »
- Senators ask probe in big beef recall
  
  San Francisco Chronicle | Feb 20, 08
  
  Lawmakers turned up the heat on the U.S. Department of Agriculture Tuesday for gaps in animal inspection at a Southern California slaughterhouse that necessitated a recall of 143 million pounds of beef, the largest beef recall in U.S. history.
- Largest Recall of Ground Beef Is Ordered
  
  New York Times | Feb 18, 08
  
  A California meat company on Sunday issued the largest beef recall in history, 143 million pounds, some of which was used in school lunch programs, Department of Agriculture officials announced.
- USDA Recalls 143M Lbs of Beef
  
  Associated Press | Feb 17, 08 3:27 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - The USDA today issued its biggest recall ever, recalling 143 million pounds of frozen beef from a slaughterhouse in Southern California that is currently being investigated for animal cruelty. The recall affects meat dating to Feb. 1 that originated in Westland/Hallmark Meat Co. The company distributes beef to major fast-food chains, as well as the federal school lunch program. More »
- Slaughterhouse Boss Faces Felony Charges
  
  Press-Enterprise | Feb 16, 08 8:26 AM CST
  
  (Newser) - Prosecutors hit a slaughterhouse manager with what they say are unprecedented felony charges yesterday after a video released last month showed abusive methods being used to push ailing cattle into a slaughter box, the Press-Enterprise reports. Daniel Ugarte Navarro, 49, faces over 8 years in prison if convicted of five felony counts of animal cruelty and three misdemeanor counts of illegal movement of a non-ambulatory animal. More »
January 2008
- US Scrutinizes Calif. Meat Packer
  
  Los Angeles Times | Jan 31, 08 2:54 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - The US Department of Agriculture is looking into a California meat distributor following the release of a video showing animal abuse at a Chino slaughterhouse, the Los Angeles Times reports. Westland Meat was immediately suspended from its contract to provide beef to federal school lunch programs because of its practice of slaughtering weak or sick cows, banned from the food supply. More »
- Video Shows Cattle Abuse at California Feedlot
  
  Washington Post | Jan 30, 08 6:14 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - Cows are zapped with electricity, picked up with forklifts, and subjected to high-pressure jets of water up their noses in a video taken at a California slaughterhouse by an undercover investigator from the US Humane Society, the Washington Post reports. The video shows cattle workers using extreme, and illegal, measures to try to get sick or slow cows moving. More »