Officials tossed 21 cases of hamburger patties into a dumpster, then, they poured bleach all over the meat. The bleach directive was ordered by a local health department. The USDA gave the order last night that this meat must be destroyed, and it had to follow guidelines given by the local health department.
The beef came from the Westland/Hallmark Meat Co. in California. The company had 143 million pounds of beef recalled because of potential contamination. There is estimated that 55 million pounds of that went to nutritional programs, mostly school lunch programs.
"I'm hopeful that in the future federal regulators will pay much closer attention to meat suppliers, especially those who supply meat to the National School Lunch Program, which is the food that we give to our kids," said Jason Hodge, Vallejo School District spokesman.
The meat was recalled after the Humane Society released video of some sick and crippled cows at a plant, raising concerns about possibly contaminated beef. No illnesses have been linked to the beef, either locally or nationwide, but officials are taking every precaution.
In Vallejo, that meat could have fed 3,000 kids. The district said it has lost thousands of dollars worth of food, but they are expecting the state to reimburse them.
