School lunch meat taken off table

California State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O’Connell released a statement on Thursday reiterating his staunch defense of the health of the school children in California. “I want to assure every parent whose child is on the school lunch program that the California Department of Education (CDE) will not tolerate anything that threatens the safety of food given to their children.”
Beef processed in the last two years at Westland/Hallmark Meat Company is being recalled because of evidence the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) received that the company was slaughtering “downed” cattle without notifying the USDA. These are cows who pass the standard USDA inspection but prior to being killed become injured or are otherwise too weak to stand on their own. Such cows can be slaughtered, but the USDA must be notified so that one of its veterinary staff can inspect the meat afterward.
This is part of a government program to stop “mad cow” disease, Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE). Nationwide, only two BSE cases have been found since June 1, 2004, and there is no evidence that Westland hamburgers or other meat products involved in the recall contained diseased beef.
In a statement released earlier this year, Westland president Steve Mendell stated that the company has for years had a USDA veterinary medical officer assigned full-time, who oversees the work of four USDA inspectors, and that Westland’s policy has been that “only ambulatory livestock may enter the harvest facility to be processed for human food.”
A disposal program is being established so that school districts such as Sonoma Valley Unified School District can destroy any Westland products they have in inventory and can be reimbursed for their costs. CDE officials will seek reimbursement from the USDA on behalf of the school districts.