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The U.S. Department of Agriculture said
on Sunday it had recalled 143 million pounds (65 million kg) of beef
produced by a California company, marking the largest meat recall in the
country's history. (File Photo)
Photo
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BEIJING, Feb. 18(Xinhuanet) -- The U.S. Department of
Agriculture said on Sunday it had recalled 143 million pounds (65 million
kg) of beef produced by a California company, marking the largest meat
recall in the country's history.
The department described it as a Class 2 recall,
meaning there was a low risk of illness.
The recall was ordered because the plant violated rules
barring the slaughter of "downer" cattle in almost all cases as a precaution
against Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE), commonly known as mad-cow
disease. Downer refers to cattle unable to walk.
Westland/Hallmark Meat Co. of Chino is taking back
all raw and frozen products it has produced since Feb. 1, 2006, because the
cattle didn't receive complete and proper inspection, according to a department
statement.
The department told reporters it was not sure how much of
the recalled meat had been consumed, but that there was a very remote chance of
anyone becoming ill from consuming these products.
The department inspector general's office is
also investigating animal treatment and rules violations at the facility,
Agriculture Secretary Ed Schafer said in the statement.
"It is extremely unlikely that these animals were at
risk for BSE," he said. "However, this action is necessary because plant
procedures violated USDA regulations."
Representative George Miller, a California Democrat
whose district doesn't include Chino, said Congress needs to conduct hearings
into the safety of meat in federal nutrition programs.
"This recall raises alarming questions about the U.S.
Department of Agriculture's ability to monitor the safety of meat that is being
shipped to our nation's schools," Miller said in an e-mailed statement.
The current meat recall is more than four times the
size of the second-largest ever, a 35-million-pound (16-million-kg) removal
of Thorn Apple Valley Inc. ready-to-eat meats potentially contaminated with
listeria in Jan. 1999, said Richard Raymond, agriculture under secretary
for food safety, in a teleconference call.
(Agencies)
