WASHINGTON — Under pressure from the food industry, the Agriculture Department is considering a proposal not to identify retailers where tainted meat went for sale except in cases of serious health risk.
Had that been the rule in place last month, consumers would not have been told if their supermarkets sold meat from a slaughterhouse that triggered the biggest beef recall in U.S. history.
The plan had lingered until pushed to the forefront in February, when 143 million pounds of beef were recalled by Westland/Hallmark Meat Co. in Chino, Calif., after undercover video showed workers abusing crippled cows. Agriculture spokesman Chris Connelly confirmed the agency is weighing whether to make naming the stores mandatory only for “Class I” recalls, which pose the greatest health hazard. The Chino case was a “Class 2” recall.
Currently, the government discloses only a recall itself.
The Associated Press
