Feb 19, 2008 5:48 pm US/Eastern
Recalled Beef Used In Waltham Schools
California Slaughterhouse Already Under Investigation For Mistreating Cattle
BOSTON (WBZ) ―
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The USDA recalled beef products dating to Feb. 1, 2006, that came from Chino, Calif.-based Westland/Hallmark Meat Co., on Feb. 17, 2008.
AP
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Undercover video shows a sick cow being jabbed with forklift blades at the Hallmark Meat Packing Co. in Chino, Calif.
The Humane Society/CBS
WBZ has confirmed that some meat tied to a nationwide recall was used in school lunches in Waltham.
Hundreds of pounds of the beef were embargoed in Rhode Island and now, officials in Waltham say they've pulled two recalled products -- meatballs and taco meat.
WBZ is told the product will be destroyed.
So far, no one has reported getting sick from eating the recalled beef.
Rhode Island public health officials told WBZ on Monday that 321 cases of frozen meatballs from the Westland/Hallmark Meat Co. of Chino, Calif., were shipped to Rhode Island schools over the past two years. Most of that beef has already been eaten; 11-and-a-half cases of the meatballs are on hold at one school, officials said.
There's a very remote chance that anyone would have become sick from eating that beef, health officials said.
Two-hundred-seventy-three cases of the frozen meatballs were also sent to the Rhode Island Department of Corrections to be served to the state's inmates. Those shipments are now on hold in a warehouse, officials told WBZ.
On Sunday, the U.S. Department of Agriculture ordered the recall of the frozen beef from the California slaughterhouse which is the subject of an animal-abuse investigation.
The recall affects beef products dating to Feb. 1, 2006, the federal agency said.
Federal officials suspended operations at Westland/Hallmark after an undercover Humane Society video surfaced showing crippled and sick animals being shoved with forklifts.
Two former employees were charged Friday. Five felony counts of animal cruelty and three misdemeanors were filed against a pen manager. Three misdemeanor counts - illegal movement of a non-ambulatory animal - were filed against an employee who worked under that manager. Both were fired.
Authorities said the video showed workers kicking, shocking and otherwise abusing "downer" animals that were apparently too sick or injured to walk into the slaughterhouse. Some animals had water forced down their throats, San Bernardino County prosecutor Michael Ramos said.
No charges have been filed against Westland, but an investigation by federal authorities continues.
For further information, Massachusetts residents can call the Department of Public Health's Food Protection Program after 9 a.m. on Tuesday at (617) 983-6700.
(© 2009 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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