March 18, 2008
Panel Grills Westland/Hallmark President Steve Mendell
Posted by Olive Rockfish under agriculture, education, fish wrap, government, health, holdingford, little falls, minnesota, morrison county, pierz, royalton, united states | Tags: Beef Recall, Downer Cows, food safety, Hallmark Meats, Inspection, Mad Cow Disease, National School Lunch Program, Slaughterhouses, USDA, Westland Meats |WASHINGTON — The president of the Chino meatpacking plant that triggered the largest beef recall in U.S. history admitted Wednesday that crippled cows, which are more likely to carry disease, probably entered the food supply at his company.
“Obviously my system broke down,” said Steve Mendell, president of Westland/Hallmark Meat Co., once a major supplier to the school lunch program.Mendell initially told a House oversight subcommittee that “downer” cows at his plant “were not slaughtered, ground or sold.”But after lawmakers screened a graphic undercover video that showed ailing cows being jabbed with electric prods, beaten and rolled with forklifts toward slaughter, Mendell acknowledged that the four-minute clip did indeed show that at least two cows were processed into food.
Read the full story —> Panel Grills Packing Plant President
Again, panel members act like the problems in our food supply is new news someone should really be grilling them.
March 20, 2008 at 9:35 pm
I honestly don’t think mad cow is as big an issue as the media would have us think. But as a member of the beef producers of america from a small farm, and someone who is not offended by the consumption of animal products, I am shocked and disgusted by the practices documented in video by this company.
You give ALL BEEF PRODUCERS a bad name. And unfortunately, I am not naive enough to believe that yours is the only one involved in said practices.
I am convinced that what was documented is more the norm than the exception, and you all should be ashamed.