Beef recall worries consumers

The biggest beef recall initiated by the U. S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has sent quivers, not only to the spines of millions of consumers, but the big retailers across the country as well.

This after animal humane society and federal inspectors have expressed apprehensions over the way ambulatory cattles were being treated before they were brought to the slaughter house for meat processing and packing.

Humane Society officials estimated that the recalled beef meat could run to the tune of a billion pounds. But USDA officials argued that estimate of the total volume could not be figured out at this time considering that meat supplies to Hallmark/Westland Meat Company came from many sources and distributors all over the country.

As this developed, food safety inspectors are in a limbo as to how much of the recalled beef went into the various outlets in the domestic markets such as schools and restaurants. Another concern that bothered most of the food inspectors were the laboratory tests that would determine what caused the cattles to become sick.

Federal health officials may be correct to theorize that some of this recalled beef may have ended up at big department stores, despite the quality of meat which is now under question in so far as food safety is concerned.

The beef recall uproar came out after the animal right group had made a video footages on how sickly cattles were being treated at the plant before the cattles were brought to the slaughter house for meat processing.

Meanwhile, the USDA was quoted as saying that only a total of 8.4 million pounds of meat was recovered so far. At this writing, no reports of illnesses contracted out the beef recall have not been established yet. While the controversy is under investigation, the Chino-based slaughterhouse has halted its operations and fired two of its employees who were shown on the video footages.