Beef recall will not affect CU Dining Services
The largest beef recall in U.S. history will not affect the CU campus, according to a statement issued by Housing and Dining Services on Feb. 20.
The California company Westland /Hallmark Meat Packing Co. voluntarily recalled over 143 million pounds of raw and frozen beef products that the United States Department of Agriculture determined were unfit for human food because the cattle did not receive complete and proper inspection. The company is a major beef supplier to the National School Lunch Program.
In the statement, dining services explained that CU purchases beef through Sysco-Denver, which has never purchased products from Westland/Hallmark Meat Packing Co.
The Humane Society of the United States filmed an undercover video at the slaughterhouse that showed cows unable to walk being pushed and ran over by fork-lifts. The video sparked an investigation and the largest beef recall in U.S. history.
Freshman Lilly Morris, an environmental studies and geography major, said she eats at CU dining halls daily, and the news caused her much concern.
“It is really sad that it’s going on and conditions like that exist,” Morris said. “But it also makes you wonder what’s going on. Like, is the meat I’m eating coming from animals in these conditions? There is no way to be sure.”
A recall issued Feb. 17 by the USDA explained the meat packing establishment did not contact the Food Safety and Inspection Service public health veterinarian in situations where “downer” cattle had lost the ability to walk after passing pre-processing inspections. These cattle are required to be inspected by an FSIS public health veterinarian who reassesses whether the animal is prohibited from food supply, or needs to be tagged as suspect.
The recall states that the beef has a remote probability of causing adverse health effects if consumed. The slaughterhouse’s violations have happened occasionally over the last two years, resulting in the recall of all beef produced during that time.
The massive beef recall has sparked a media fury and discussion on animal slaughter and cruelty on campus. Barbara Bear, a Boulder resident and non-violence activist, stood outside the UMC handing out pamphlets encouraging students to “go vegan.”
“I wasn’t surprised [by the recent recall] because I know there are supposed to be a number of inspectors so this won’t happen, but there are not enough to go around,” Bear said. “It’s ongoing. People will do whatever they can get away with. It is all about profit.”
Some of the company’s products were published for federal food and nutrition programs. The USDA is currently holding all products in those outlets, including the National School Lunch Program, the Emergency Food Assistance Program and the Food Assistance Program on Indian Reservations.
Dining Services reported that as of Jan. 2007, all CU dining centers started using Coleman Natural beef burgers and ground beef. Coleman is a local company that supplies natural products.
Still, some students, like freshman business major Brendan Doehler, aren’t satisfied.
“I think the meat in the dining halls is not high quality, because it is cooked in mass quantities,” Doehler said.
Even though Doehler said he thinks it is necessary for meat production companies to live up to certain standards, he did have one confession.
“I like good steak,” he said.
Contact Campus Press Staff Writer Monica Stone at monica.stone@colorado.edu.
