February 2008

In a conference call with industry this morning, FSIS announced that it has changed its position in regard to further processed products that contain any amount of recalled Westland beef.  Whereas the Agency had stated on Tuesday that manufacturers of products in which Westland beef was commingled with other beef would not have to notify

NEWS RELEASE
Committee on Energy and Commerce
Rep. John D. Dingell, Chairman

For immediate release: February 19, 2008
Contact: Jodi Seth or Alex Haurek, 202-225-5735

MEDIA ADVISORY:
Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee
Hearing on Food Safety

Washington, DC – On the heels of the latest major meat recall, the Committee on Energy and Commerce’s Subcommittee on

Had a nice chat with Jessica Fargen of the Boston Herald as I was traveling to New Orleans – Here is the interview entitled “Do Your Homework”

Here are some common sense tips to keep in mind the next time you go food shopping. They come courtesy of Wendy Heiger-Bernays, chairwoman of the Lexington Board

A lawsuit was filed today against Castleberry’s Food Co., the company that recalled tens of millions of pounds of canned meat products sold under over 80 different labels after they were identified as the source of a botulism outbreak in July, 2007. The lawsuit was filed in Federal District Court for the Northern District of

OK, I could not help myself. Hell, no one knows where the 143 million pounds of recalled meat really is. As I posted below, I am an Obama and Clinton supporter – “Obanton?” I did get an email from one of my chief defense lawyer opponents (also an Obama supporter) noting that Obama has made

The largest recall of beef in U.S. history – over 143 million pounds – and the solid evidence that USDA has failed to enforce its own ban against downer cattle being used in the nation’s school lunch program, demand immediate action by Congress says food safety attorney William D. Marler.  As I said to USA

The problems at Westland and Hallmark began with abusing cattle, moved into a ban of its product from the market, then on to criminal violations.  We now need to get this front and center before a congressional Investigation.

The Largest Recall in United States History occurred Sunday.

Hallmark/Westland Meat Packing Company of Chino, California establishment is recalling approximately 143,383,823 pounds of raw and frozen beef products that FSIS has determined to be unfit for human food because the cattle did not receive complete and proper inspection. According to an FSIS press release, through evidence obtained by FSIS, the establishment did not consistently contact the FSIS public health veterinarian in situations in which cattle became non-ambulatory after passing ante-mortem inspection, which is not compliant with FSIS regulations. Such circumstances require that an FSIS public health veterinarian reassess the non-ambulatory cattle which are either condemned and prohibited from the food supply, or tagged as suspect. Suspect cattle receive a more thorough inspection after slaughter than is customary.  Full Release.

In July 2007, FSIS issued a final rule “Prohibition of the Use of Specified Risk Materials for Human Food and Requirements for the Disposition of Non-Ambulatory Disabled Cattle.” This rule requires that a case by case disposition must be made by an FSIS Public Health Veterinarian for every animal that becomes non-ambulatory disabled (“downer”) after passing ante-mortem inspection.

All products subject to recall bear the establishment number “EST. 336” inside the USDA mark of inspection. The products were produced on various dates from Feb. 1, 2006 to Feb. 2, 2008.  Companies are urged to check their inventories and hold the products until the recalling firm makes arrangements for final disposition of the products.   Full FSIS Website.

See Labels.  The following products are subject to recall:Continue Reading Hallmark and Westland Meat Packing Company of Chino, California is recalling 143,383,823 pounds of raw and frozen beef products

Linda Bock TELEGRAM & GAZETTE has been following this tragedy since the beginning, and her recent story – “CSI: Listeria – State health lab used DNA ‘fingerprints’ to find listeria source” – continues our fascination with the crime scene investigation of “the recent Listeria outbreak linked to three deaths and one miscarriage.”

However, her story