Feb 19, 2008 11:24 pm US/Eastern
State Confirms Beef Was Sent To Md. Schools
MARYLAND (WJZ) ―
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Schools across Maryland received beef from the company at the center of one of the largest recalls in U.S. history.
Schools across Maryland received beef from the company at the center of one of the largest recalls in U.S. history.
Kathryn Brown reports Baltimore City and seven counties in Maryland received the recalled beef.
Now parents are concerned over the safety of school lunches and lawmakers demand major changes.
Schools across the country and many here in Maryland are scrambling to clear their shelves of thousands of pounds of potentially contaminated beef.
"I heard it was in the schools and that just made me not want to eat school lunch right now until they say something different," said high school senior Kennisha Connaway.
More than 143 million pounds of beef dating back two years was recalled this week.
Undercover Humane Society video features cows too weak or sick to move being shoved and prodded with forklifts at a Southern California slaughterhouse.
The plant supplies meat to the federal school lunch program and here in Maryland, seven counties and Baltimore City confirm they receive the meat.
"We contacted schools immediately, as well as our distributor to place it on administrative hold," said Jodi Reese with Anne Arundel County Schools.
Because so much of the meat ended up in Maryland schools, many parents are now asking questions about where the meat comes from before it ends up in cafeterias.
"You've got kids coming in here, and they're trusting that the food that's being brought into them is of good quality. The parents are also believing the same," said parent Mike McCoy.
"You hope and pray that it's coming from a safe and reliable source, but nowadays, you really don't know," said parent Roberta Kelly.
Now the safety of the National School Lunch Program, run by the USDA, is under federal investigation. Some lawmakers are calling for the USDA to be stripped of its responsibility for food safety.
"It's really outrageous that it took a non-government organization to uncover these abuses. The U.S. Department of Agriculture gets tax dollars to place inspectors on the ground at these plants," said Wayne Pacelle with the Humane Society.
Lawmakers are planning a hearing in March to examine why federal inspectors didn't note the animal abuse.
There have been no reports of illnesses associated with the recalled beef.
The Humane Society says it hopes the attention to "downer" cows will prompt lawmakers to pass legislation that would keep all sick cattle out of the food supply.
This statement and facts about the meat were released by the Maryland State Department of Education.
"MSDE's first concern is for the health and safety of students in Maryland public schools."
Here is some information about this particular recall:
* Federal officials designated this recall as Class II "due to the remote probability that the beef being recalled would cause adverse health effects if consumed."
* There are no reports, either nationally or in Maryland, of individuals getting sick from the beef involved in this recall.
* A portion of the Westland meat has been distributed to schools nationwide through the federal school lunch program.
* Once alerted by federal officials, MSDE immediately notified local school systems of the recall. USDA also notified systems directly.
* All beef included in the recall had already been put on administrative hold on Jan. 31, when word of potential problems at the Westland facility first emerged.
* All beef distributed through USDA school lunch program in Maryland and included in this recall was pre-cooked.
* Systems that had received the recalled beef were:
-Anne Arundel
-Allegany
-Baltimore City
-Baltimore County
-Montgomery County
-Prince George's County
-St. Mary's
-Wicomico
-Worcester
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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