Washington - The US Department of Agriculture Sunday mandated one of the largest meat recalls in US history - a record 65 million kilogrammes of beef - after it determined a California slaughter house had pushed cows in poor health into the food chain. US Secretary of Agriculture Ed Schafer said the Hallmark/ Westland Meat Packing Company had slaughtered cattle "unfit for human food."
The meat was sold to schools, emergency food recipients and Indian reservations.
Schaefer said that the packing plant had violated safeguards that protect against "foodborne disease" by butchering non-ambulatory cattle. US law forbids using such animals because of the danger of bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or BSE, more widely known as mad cow disease, and pathogens such as e coli and salmonella.
BSE causes a wasting disorder in animals and in humans who consume infected meat. The sickness in cattle has been traced to infected parts from other cattle that were added to the feed of the normally vegetarian cud chewers.
US officials have banned the use of parts of dead cows in cow feed, and closely monitor herds for BSE since the first US case was discovered in 2003 at a farm in Washington state.
Sunday's recall covers all animals slaughtered at the plant since February 1, 2006 - the period in which agriculture officials said the company failed to consistently contact them about its treatment of non-ambulatory "downer" cattle.
The investigation and recall followed release of an undercover video last month by the Humane Society of the United States showing workers kicking so-called "downer" cows, using fork lifts and electric prods and forcing water down their mouths to make them move.
Wayne Pacelle, president of the society, called the move by the government "a prudent decision" - but called for the federal government to "step up and meet its responsibility for assuring both the integrity of food and the humane treatment of animals at all slaughter plants."
"A recall of this staggering scale proves that it's past time for Congress and the USDA to strengthen our laws for the sake of people and animals," Pacelle said.
Agriculture Secretary Schafer said it was "extremely unlikely that these animals were at risk for BSE" but said the recall was necessary because "plant procedures violated USDA regulations."
"Non-ambulatory cattle are not allowed into the food supply," Richard Raymond, USDA under secretary for food safety, told reporters earlier this week.
Two Westland/Hallmark former employees were charged with animal cruelty by the San Bernardino District Attorney's office on Friday.
The company has voluntarily ceased operations during the investigation.
A congressman from California, George Miller, said the recall raised "alarming questions about the US Department of Agriculture's ability to monitor the safety of meat that is being shipped to our nation's schools."
The meat recall is more than four times the size of the second- largest ever, a 15.9-million-kilogramme recall in 1999, Bloomberg financial news service reported.
Steve Mendell, president of the meat company, said in a statement that his company had met "the highest standards for harvesting and processing meat" and had been under supervision of a USDA veterinary medical officer for "many years."
He said his employees were trained in humane animal handling, and that he was "shocked and horrified" by the depictions in the video.
