LOS ANGELES — The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced Sunday the recall of 143 million pounds of raw and frozen beef from a troubled meatpacking company, deeming it unfit for human consumption because of lapses in required inspections.
Agriculture Department officials called it the largest beef recall in the United States, surpassing the ban in 1999 of 35 million pounds of ready-to-eat meat.
The USDA said the recall of beef from Westland/Hallmark Meat Co. of Chino, Calif., was not based on the same levels of concern for public health as in some prior recalls.
“There is a remote probability of any serious health concern … but we are taking this action because of our regulations,” a spokesman said.
Problems at the plant first went public following the release of a video showing inhumane treatment of animals at the plant. The video led to schools nationwide pulling beef suppled by the company from cafeterias.
In the video, workers used forklifts, cattle prods and hoses to force nonambulatory cattle to their feet to be taken to slaughter. By law, cattle that cannot walk are banned from the human meat supply.
Most of the beef was sent to distribution centers. The USDA said it will work with distributors to determine how much meat remains.
Officials estimate that about 37 million pounds of the recalled beef went to school programs, but they believe most of the meat has already been eaten. Fast-food chains Jack in the Box and In-N-Out said they would not use beef from Westland/Hallmark. Other chains such as McDonald’s and Burger King said they do not buy beef from Westland.
It was unclear Sunday night whether any meat in Colorado was affected by the recall.
“There are lots of recalls where the products aren’t distributed in Colorado,” said Mark Salley, a spokesman for the state Department of Public Health and Environment. The department had yet to learn specific details of the recall from federal officials, he said.
The Associated Press and Denver Post staff writer Joey Bunch contributed to this report.
This article has been corrected in this online archive. Originally, due to an editor’s error, the subhead referred to Chico, Calif. The company is based in Chino.
