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moos from the swamp
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moos from the swamp
mystery meat
Do You Know What Grade Of Beef Taco Bell Uses? Do They? Does Anyone?
A reader sent us the contents of a Better Business Bureau complaint filed against Taco Bell. It describes how a customer tried repeatedly to find out what grade beef Taco Bell uses in its food, and how nobody at the company was able or willing to provide an answer. Not surprisingly, the BBB complaint also went unanswered. Let's just hope they're not sourcing their beef from forklift cattle, which is like downer cattle but has odd prong-shaped bruises on the side. More »
listeria
Recall: 286,000 lbs of Meat Used In Sandwich Wraps Contaminated With Listeria
Gourmet Boutique, of Queens, NY is recalling 286,000 lbs of possibly contaminated meat used in sandwich wraps and other ready-to-eat products, says the USDA. This is the second recall of this type for the company. In March they recalled 7,000 lbs of meat for possible listeria contamination. More »
food safety
USDA Accused Of Bullying Inspectors Who Reported Safety Violations
First the FAA makes their own inspectors cry in front of Congress and now the Associated Press says that the head of the federal inspectors' union is alleging that the USDA told him to "drop the matter" when he reported food safety violations at slaughterhouses. When he refused, he was placed on "disciplinary investigative status." More »
recalls
Cow Abuse Meatpacking Boss Reluctantly Admits To Tainting The Food Supply
The president of a slaughterhouse at the heart of the largest meat recall denied under oath on Wednesday, but then changed his mind, that his company introduced sick cows into the food supply, says the NYT. More »
H.J. Heinz Co. is recalling approximately 40,000 cases of Boston Market brand lasagna with meat sauce after realizing that it contained that sketchy recalled cow abuse beef from Westland/Hallmark. [BizJournals]
moo
The Great 2008 Beef Recall's Cow Torturing Villains Revealed
Here are the booking photos of Westland/Hallmark Meat Co., employees, Jose Luis Sanchez and Daniel Navarro. They are both suspects arrested in connection with the animal abuse incident at the slaughterhouse. More »
The Humane Society of America has sued the USDA in an attempt to close a loophole that allows downer cows who aren't otherwise ill into the food supply. They claim the loophole increases the risk of introducing mad cow disease to humans, and leads to abuse against the cattle—like with, oh, say, a forklift. [Wall Street Journal]
usda
Meat Industry Wants To "Unrecall" Some Of That Potentially Tainted Beef
The Wall Street Journal says that that beef industry representatives have been talking with federal food-safety regulators about possibly "narrowing the scope" of the recent record-breaking beef recall that stemmed from an undercover video showing slaughter house workers hitting sick cows with forklifts and forcing them into the slaughter box. Cows that can not stand are not allowed into the food supply because they pose an increased risk of "mad cow" disease. More »
recalls
The U.S. Department of Agriculture initiated the largest meat recall in U.S. history today, recalling 143 million pounds of beef from a macabre California slaughterhouse that chopped up downer cows—a rich source of mad cow disease—and sold them to school districts across the nation. The massive recall affects all beef produced by the Westland/Hallmark Meat Company after February 1, 2006.
More »
USDA Recalls 143 Million Pounds Of Beef
The U.S. Department of Agriculture initiated the largest meat recall in U.S. history today, recalling 143 million pounds of beef from a macabre California slaughterhouse that chopped up downer cows—a rich source of mad cow disease—and sold them to school districts across the nation. The massive recall affects all beef produced by the Westland/Hallmark Meat Company after February 1, 2006.
More »
taking it seriously
U.S. Agriculture Secretary Takes Hitting Sick Cows With Forklifts Seriously
WHO: U.S. Agriculture Secretary Ed SchaferWHAT: Undercover video taken by animal rights activists shows cows too ill to walk being lifted and prodded into the slaughter box with forklifts. Sick cows are not supposed to enter the food supply because they carried increased risk of mad cow disease. The activity in the video went on while USDA inspectors were supposedly supervising the facility. The meatpacking company in question produces beef for use in public school lunches.
WHERE:California plant accused of torturing unfit cows [Reuters]
THE QUOTE:"First of all, this issue is taken very seriously by the USDA employees responsible for this area," he told reporters. "Obviously, there is a full investigation and inspection going on today."
food safety
USDA Stops Production At Meatpacking Facility After Undercover Video Showed Sick Cows Being Abused
So-called "downer" cows that are too ill to walk are not allowed into the food supply due to a higher instance of bovine spongiform encephalopathy ( mad cow disease)—which is why an undercover video taken by animal rights activists is causing a stir at the USDA. More »
The FDA's announcement today that cloned beef and dairy is safe was met with criticism by several consumer groups, which isn't surprising, and the US Department of Agriculture, which is—they say that food producers should continue to honor a "voluntary moratorium" for the indefinite future until consumers have time to learn to love cloned beef. [Washington Post]
Recalls: Gorilla Full Body Safety Harnesses (falling), Specialized Bicycle Helmets (not safe enough), Queso Fresco Cheese (listeria), Barrilito candy syrup (lead), Snapps Ferry Packing Ground Beef (E.Coli).
your health
Most Recalled Meat Is Eaten, Never Recovered
Most recalled meat is eaten before it can be returned to the factory, according to a nauseating analysis by USA Today. Well-publicized and timely recalls catch slightly less than of all affected meat, a stunning accomplishment when compared to the recovery rates for tainted meat that sickens people. More »
recalls
Double B Foods Recalls 98,000 Pounds Of Sausages On Fears Of Listeria
Double B Foods is recalling 98,000 pounds of their pastry-covered smoked sausage rolls called Kolaches on fears that they may be contaminated with listeria. Listeria monocytogenes is a nasty bug that can kill babies and the elderly, while leaving everyone else stricken with fever, headaches, nausea, diarrhea and other assorted abdominal pains. A full list of affected products and states, after the jump. More »
food safety
Carbon Monoxide-Treated Meat Is Here To Stay, For Now
In hearings today, the meat producers Hormel Foods Corp and Cargill Inc testified that the practice of treating meat with carbon monoxide to preserve its red color is safe and should be allowed. As a compromise, they suggested a label on all CO-treated meat and fish that reminded consumers to refer to the date on the package to determine its freshness. According to Reuters, "officials at the Food and Drug Administration and U.S. Agriculture Department said they stand by the safety of the carbon monoxide practice and would revisit the process if new data becomes available." More »
recalls
