080218 No Indication Any Recalled Meat Was Contaminated

Point Pleasant, WV - West Virginia Commissioner of Agriculture Gus R. Douglass is reassuring West Virginia consumers that beef recently recalled from a California slaughter plant is not a threat to human health in the Mountain State.

“Effectively, the recall was a revocation of USDA's seal of inspection for violations of required procedures, and without that seal - or one like it from West Virginia - that product cannot be distributed,” Douglass said. “There has been no direct indication that any of this meat was contaminated, nor have there been any reports of illness in relation to this recall.”

The West Virginia Department of Agriculture (WVDA) received some of the recalled beef through its Food Distribution Program, which manages government-purchased food destined for school lunch and nutrition assistance programs.

West Virginia received 1,323 cases of beef taco product from JTM Food Group, which processed the commodity beef. All but about 240 cases already have been consumed. Of those, 200 cases were at the WVDA's central warehouse, and approximately 40 cases were identified in schools. Recalled products were not used in any other food programs.

The 200 cases at the WVDA warehouse were destroyed Thursday. Schools must throw away the meat they have, but will be compensated.

Douglass said the recall was necessary to ensure that meat processors adhere to procedures that protect animal welfare and minimize the chance of unwholesome meat entering the human food supply.

“I tell all the department's inspectors, ‘If you see something somewhere that you wouldn't want to eat, pull it, because I don't want to find it on my plate - or anyone else's,'” he said. “While downer cattle don't pose a definitive risk, these are animals of questionable health with possibly weakened immune systems. It's simply a chance we don't need to take.”

WVDA inspectors are in state meat-production facilities daily to enforce state processing and welfare regulations, and there has never been a recall of state-inspected products since he implemented the meat inspection program early in his career, Douglass added.

The federal recall was ordered after it was revealed that workers at Westland/Hallmark Meat Co. in Chino, Calif., had abused “downer” cattle - those having difficulty walking or that could not stand - in violation of USDA regulations. In response, USDA ordered the recall of 143 million pounds of beef dating back to Feb. 1, 2006.

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