Meat recall exec admits cattle were illegally slaughtered
Wednesday, March 12th, 2008Today, Westland/Hallmark Meat Co. President Steve Mendell finally admitted that cattle were illegally slaughtered at his plant and that cows too sick to stand were forced into the food supply. Mendell had originally maintained in a written statement to a congressional committee investigating the largest meat recall scandal in U.S. history that the sick cattle filmed in an underground video by the American Humane Society were being moved to a separate pen to be euthanized.
However, today Mendell acknowledged under direct questioning by Representative Bart Stupak (D, MI) that those cattle did indeed enter the food supply.
Mendell was appearing under subpoena before the House Energy and Commerce investigative subcommittee, which Rep. Stupak chairs. He failed to appear at a committee hearing last month.
The Westland/Hallmark Meat Co.’s Chino, California plant was shut down February 17 and 143 million pounds of beef recalled after the Humane Society posted the video on its website. According to the Associated Press, some 50 million pounds of the beef went to federal nutrition programs, mostly school lunches.
The AP report quoted Mendell as saying, “Our company is ruined. We cannot continue. Some 220 employees have lost or are about to lose their jobs.”
View the Humane Society video that led to the recall of Westland/Hallmark Meats, along with portions of the Mendell questioning before Congress Read the recall notice from Westland/Hallmark Meat Co.
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