No illnesses have been linked to the recalled meat in Greenville County schools according to Oby Lyles, a spokesperson for the school system.
Schools that bought meat products from the Hallmark/Westland Meat Packing Company in California were issued a “hold” on using the product earlier this month. The recall of 143 million pounds of beef ironically was issued from the same company that was named “supplier of the year” by the USDA in 2004-2005.
Meat products from the plant were originally removed from Greenville County School lunch offerings on February 8 based on a suspension and hold notice from the USDA. The notice was issued due to concerns about the inhumane treatment of cows. The recall for the meat has not affected the school lunch menus.
The meat used in tacos and spaghetti will be easily replaced because the school district receives food products from other sources,” Lyles said.
The processed ground beef has been used in Greenville County schools in the form of value added products such as taco filling and meat sauce.
“The meat is under a two-year recall. By now most of the meat has already been eaten because it is our policy for school districts to utilize the meat purchased each school year so none will be carried over for the summer,” according to Carl Brooks of the South Carolina State Department of Education.
“The school districts that have the bad beef were ones that purchased food products with funds that were allocated to them,” Brooks said.
Most of Spartanburg District Five was not affected by the food recall because the area did not receive any of the bad meat from Hallmark/Westland.
“We received word from the State Department to put a hold on any meat on January 30,” Betty Conrad said. Conrad is the operation controller of Chartwells Food Service Program that serves District Five.
The hold on the meat is still in effect until further notice by the State Department of Education.
“Our number one concern is the health and well being of the children and teachers we service,” Conrad said.
Greenville County and other school districts will receive a reimbursement from the USDA for the unused meat.
Wayne Pacelle of the Humane Society stated in reports that the USDA needs to revaluate their policies on how livestock is to be treated for slaughter.
Hallmark/Westland is the second-largest supplier of beef for the National Lunch Program. The company has delivered beef to schools in 36 states.
The three suppliers that distribute meat to Greenville County schools and other school districts in South Carolina from Hallmark/Westland are JTM Food Group and Pierre Foods of Ohio, and Advance Foods of Oklahoma. Brooks said only JTM Food Group and Advance Foods have provided specific information on what products to recall.
“The packing company provides meat to the USDA through the federal food services programs,” Lyles said.
Hallmark/Westland is under scrutiny for the inhumane treatment of cows. After the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Services (FSIS) received a video from the Humane Society that depicted the slaughtering of sick cows for beef, an immediate recall was made.
The slaughtering of sick cattle leads to fear of mad cow disease and E. coli. Agriculture officials stated in USDA reports there was little health risk because the animals had passed pre-slaughter inspection. The USDA noted the plant did not always alert federal veterinarians when its cows were unable to walk.
Brooks said, “that the raw ground beef used in hamburger patties has not been recalled because those were purchased through another company. It was the beef that was used in the value added products purchased by Greenville County and other school districts throughout South Carolina.”
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