This undercover video of sick and crippled cows being brought to slaughter in an abattoir in southern California has prompted the largest recall of beef in US history, (writes Will Pavia).

The US Department of Agriculture yesterday ordered that 143 million lb of beef from the slaughterhouse be recalled. Officials estimate that some 37 million lbs of the recalled meat had been heading to schools across America though they fear that most of it will have already been eaten.

The abattoir run by the Hallmark Meat Packing Company, an associate and supplier of Westland Meat Company, which provides meat for America’s National School Lunch Programme, is now the subject of an an animal-abuse investigation.

Ed Schafer, the US Secretary of Agriculture Ed Schafer said his department had evidence that Westland did not routinely contact its veterinarian when cattle lost the power to walk after passing inspection, violating health regulations.

“Because the cattle did not receive complete and proper inspection, Food Safety and Inspection Service has determined them to be unfit for human food and the company is conducting a recall,” Mr Schafer said in a statement.

Dr Dick Raymond, the department’s undersecretary for food safety, said: “We don’t know how much product is out there right now. We don’t think there is a health hazard, but we do have to take this action.”

The evidence referred to by the authorities was contained in an undercover video shot at the abattoir, showing workers kicking, electric shocking and otherwise maltreating “downer” animals: cows that appear to be too sick or injured to walk. The video was produced by a representative from the Humane Society of the United States, who had been working undercover at the plant.

The representative claimed that workers at the plant attempted to get sick animals to pass a cursory vetinary inspection and into the slaughter pens. The video shows cows being dragged by the hoof behind a forklift truck, and distressed animals being lifted, rolled and shocked in an attempt to force them to stand. One clip shows a worker apparently attempting to force a cow to stand by forcing water down its throat.

As well as concerns over cruelty, federal regulations call for keeping downed cattle out of the food supply because they may pose a higher risk of contamination from E. coli, salmonella or mad cow disease, because the cows typically wallow in faeces and their immune systems are often weak.

Most of the recalled products were sent to distribution centres in bulk packages. The US Department of Agriculture said it will work with distributors to determine how much meat remains.

About 150 school districts around the nation have stopped using ground beef from the slaughterhouse. Two fast-food chains, Jack-In-the-Box and In-N-Out, said they would not use beef from Westland and Hallmark.

On February 3, Steve Mendell, President of Westland and Hallmark, issued a statement: “Words cannot accurately express how shocked and horrified I was at the depictions contained on the video that was taken by an individual who worked at our facility from October 3 thru November 14, 2007. We have taken swift action regarding the two employees identified on the video and have already implemented aggressive measures to ensure all employees follow our humane handling policies and procedures,” he said.

“We are also cooperating with the USDA investigators on the allegations of inhumane handling treatment which is a serious breech of our company’s policies and training.”

The Department of Agriculture’s inspections regime has also come in for criticism following the recall. “Today marks the largest beef recall in U.S. history, and it involves the national school lunch program and other federal food and nutrition programs,” said U.S. Senator Tom Harkin, chairman of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry. “This begs the question: How much longer will we continue to test our luck with weak enforcement of federal food safety regulations?”

Advocacy groups also weighed in, noting the problems at Westland wouldn’t have been revealed had it not been for animal right activists. “On the one hand, I’m glad that the recall is taking place. On the other, it’s somewhat disturbing, given that obviously much of this food has already been eaten,” said Jean Halloran, director of food policy initiatives at Consumers Union. “It’s really closing the barn door after the cows left.”

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