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Last Updated: Jun 30, 2008 - 11:14:37 AM |
WEDNESDAY FEB 20, 2008 (Foodconsumer.org) -- The Center for Science in the Public Interest issued a statement today saying that there is no way to really recall much of the 143 million pounds of beef produced by Hallmark/Westland Meat Packaging Co. because the consumers don't know whether the beef they purchased is on the recall list.
Officials at the Food Safety and Inspection Services under the Department of Agriculture said that chances are good that the majority of recalled beef has been eaten by the consumers, but so far there have been no cases of illness including mad cow disease reportedly associated with the recalled beef.
The nationwide recall of 143 million pounds of beef produced during the past two years stemmed from an undercover video taped by the Humane Society of the United States which shows that employees at the meat producer based out of Chino, California used cruel means to force downer cows to stand and walk to pass the USDA inspection.
Among the beef being recalled, 37 million was sent to schools under the National School Lunch Program, prompting at least hundreds of school districts nationwide to withdraw beef from the meat producer. Hallmark/Westland Meat Packaging Co. was said to be the second largest meat supplier for the program.
The USDA requires that downers or non-ambulatory cows should not be processed into meat for human consumption. The video prompted the agency to launch an investigation, which led the agency to believe that at least on several occasions, Hallmark/Westland Meat Packaging Co. failed to notify the USDA public health veterinarian of cows coming down on the way to the slaughterhouse.
In its statement, the CSPI said "the USDA refuses to release the names of retail establishments that sell recalled meat to the public because of fears that companies won't share information with USDA under its voluntary recall system."
“When a recall is undertaken, big buyers are told that meat they purchased is part of the recall, but those buyers aren’t required to notify their customers,” said CSPI staff attorney Sarah Klein. “Consumers hearing of the recall may not realize that the ground beef in their freezer is the recalled product just sold with a different label.”
The USDA states in its recall notice that the recall covers bulk packages of beef shipped to the wholesalers that are not available for direct purchase by consumers, which the CSPI suggested could be misleading because the bulk packages being recalled in the end will be re-packed under different brand names and sold to consumers. Because of this, some consumers may still be buying the recalled beef from sick cows.
According to CSPI, the government agency has a policy of not identifying a recalling firm's immediate purchasers because the agency considers the names of repackagers confidential and not subject to disclosure. Additionally, labels for such products will not bear the “336” establishment number, which is the specific identity for Hallmark/Westland Meat Packaging Co. As a result, consumers may not know what they have purchased may be the meat being recalled.
National retailer Wegman's Food markets Inc. may be the only seller in the whole nation that has recently begun telephoning consumers who may have purchased recalled products using information on the consumers' discount cards, the CSPI said.
The major concern about recalled beef is mad cow disease. Studies showed the majority of mad cow disease cases have been found in downers. By one definition, the fatal disease could develop within months and kill patients quickly.
© 2004-2008 by foodconsumer.org unless otherwise specified
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