Lawmakers Call for Independent Government Investigation into Meat Safety in the Nation’s Schools

California meat processing company under investigation for abusing cattle was a top supplier of beef for the National School Lunch Program

Thursday, February 14, 2008

WASHINGTON, DC -- In light of recent revelations of cattle abuse by a top beef supplier for the nation’s schools, Democratic lawmakers today called for an independent government investigation into the safety of meat in the National School Lunch Program.

The request, which was sent to the U.S. Government Accountability Office by U.S. Reps. George Miller (D-CA), Rosa Delauro (D-CT), and Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY) and Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL), comes after the release of an undercover video by the Humane Society of the United States revealed egregious abuses of cattle at the Westland/Hallmark Meat Company in Chino, California.

“Along with all Americans who watched the Humane Society’s disturbing videos, we are concerned with the mistreatment of animals at Westland Meat Co. We are writing today because of urgent concerns this incident raises about food safety in the National School Lunch Program and the implications for our children’s health and well-being,” the lawmakers wrote in their letter. 

The Humane Society’s footage showed employees using inhumane practices to force non-ambulatory cows to stand so that they would pass federal inspection in the slaughterhouse. Meat from non-ambulatory or “downer” cows presents a higher risk of E. coli, salmonella, and other dangers, and it is banned under federal law from entering the food supply.

The Inspector General for the U.S. Department of Agriculture is now investigating the company’s abuses, and the company’s production is currently suspended. The USDA, which oversees the National School Lunch Program, has also asked all schools to put beef products on hold until its investigation can determine whether unsafe meat entered the food supply.

Despite these steps by the USDA, the lawmakers cited serious concerns about the overall effectiveness of the federal government’s effort to ensure the safety of meat on the school food supply. To date, no independent investigation has been launched into the safety of the schools’ meat supply. 

Miller is the chair of the House Education and Labor Committee, which has jurisdiction over school nutrition programs, and McCarthy is the chair of the panel’s Subcommittee on Healthy Families and Communities. Delauro is the chair of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture and the Food and Drug Administration. Durbin is a member of the Senate Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee and is the author of several pieces of food safety legislation.

Below is the full text of the lawmakers’ letter to the GAO.

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February 14, 2008

Dear Mr. Walker:

Late last month, the Humane Society of the United States released an undercover video of abuses of cattle at the Westland/Hallmark Meat Co., one of the top suppliers of beef to the National School Lunch Program, which serves our nation’s children in schools across the country. 

The video showed employees using forklifts, electric shocks, and other inhumane means to force non-ambulatory (or “downer”) cows to stand so that they would pass federal inspection in the slaughterhouse. Because meat from non-ambulatory cows presents a higher risk of E. coli and salmonella contamination and bovine spongiform encephalopathy, federal law bans it from entering the food supply. 

Along with all Americans who watched the Humane Society’s disturbing videos, we are concerned about the mistreatment of animals at Westland Meat Co. We are writing today because of urgent concerns this incident raises about food safety in the National School Lunch Program and the implications for our children’s health and well-being.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), which oversees the National School Lunch Program, immediately alerted school districts to pull and hold all suspected beef from Westland following the release of the undercover video. Schools are currently holding beef products until an investigation can determine whether contaminated meat entered the school food supply. 

While these initial steps by USDA were appropriate, they leave unanswered a larger question about the overall effectiveness of the federal government’s effort to ensure the safety of meat in the school food supply. We request that GAO thoroughly examine: (1) the process for protecting our students from dangerous food; (2) how quickly and accurately schools can assess and pull potentially contaminated products; and (3) the information, guidance and resources about inspections, suppliers’ histories, and safe handling practices the USDA provides to local authorities.

This review will help us to determine what steps are necessary to ensure our children’s health by preventing tainted beef from entering the school food supply.

Thank you for your attention to this issue.  Please direct your staff to coordinate GAO’s investigation with the Education and Labor Committee’s Chief Investigative Counsel, Michael Zola, who can be reached at (202) XXX-XXXX.

Sincerely,

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Tom Kiley / Rachel Racusen
2181 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
202-226-0853