FRESNO, Calif. (AP) — Federal officials say nothing they
have seen so far in covert video shot in a California slaughterhouse
shows meat from cows that may have been sick made it into the food
supply.
But the federal government and McDonald’s Corp. have suspended purchases of meat from the facility.
The
suspensions by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the fast-food
chain came after an animal welfare group’s video shot at a
slaughterhouse operated by Central Valley Meat Co. showed cows that
appeared to be sick or lame being beaten, kicked, shot and shocked in an
attempt to get them to walk to slaughter.
"There are behaviors in
the video which appear to be unacceptable and would not adhere to the
standards we demand of our suppliers," McDonald’s said in release.
The
video was shot in June and July by an undercover operative for the
group Compassion Over Killing who worked at the plant and also gave a
written statement to the USDA about events not on tape.
"We do
know that workers were trying to make non-ambulatory cows not eligible
for slaughter go to slaughter," said Erica Meier, executive director of
the animal welfare organization. "We believe red flags are raised for
sure with our video, but it’s up to the USDA to decide."
It’s
against the law to slaughter a non-ambulatory animal for food out of
concern that it could be infected with bovine spongiform encephalopathy,
also known as mad cow disease.
The Hanford slaughterhouse is in
the same city where a dairy cow at a rendering plant was discovered in
April to have mad cow disease. The USDA said earlier this month it was
an isolated case and didn’t pose a threat to the food supply.
Central Valley Meat Co. primarily slaughters dairy cows that have lost their value as milk producers.
The
USDA bought 21 million pounds of beef from the company in 2011 for the
national school lunch and other federal food programs.
Records
show the government made five large-scale purchases of ground and chunk
beef, spending more than $50 million of the total $135 allocated by the
government for such acquisitions that year.
USDA spokesman Justin
DeJong said he did not know to which government food programs the beef
was allocated. The meat generally goes to the national school lunch
program and food distribution on Indian reservations, and is available
for discount purchases by community food banks.
"The department
works to ensure that product purchased for the federal feeding programs
meets stringent food safety standards and that processors comply with
humane handling regulations," the USDA said in a statement.
McDonald’s
also said it had suspended purchases of meat from the slaughterhouse.
The company did not immediately say how much meat it had been buying.
But a spokesman for the chain said the percentage of meat purchased from
the slaughterhouse was in the single digits.
Regional fast-food chain In-N-Out Burger previously suspended purchases after learning of the allegations
of inhumane treatment.
The
New York Times reported that Costco Wholesale Corp. also suspended
purchases. That company did not immediately return a call from The
Associated Press seeking comment.
The USDA acted quickly to shut down Central Valley Meat Co. on Monday after the video documented the
treatment of dairy cows.
The
video appears to show workers bungling the slaughter of cows struggling
to walk and even stand. Clips show workers kicking and shocking cows to
get them to stand and walk to slaughter.
The video prompted the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association to issue a statement.
"We
firmly believe that those knowingly and willfully committing any abuse
to animals should not be in the business — period," Dave Daley, a
professor at California State University, Chico, said in the statement
released by the marketing group. "The actions depicted in these videos
are disgraceful and not representative of the cattle community."
Central
Valley Meat Co. has referred all questions to a public relations firm
that issued a statement saying Central Valley Meat is cooperating with
investigators and developing a plan to remedy any potential violations
of USDA guidelines.
"Based on our own investigation and 30 years
of producing safe, high-quality US beef, we are confident these concerns
pose no food safety issues," the statement said.
The video shows
one man standing on the muzzle of a downed cow. Other footage depicts
cows struggling after being repeatedly shot in the head with a pneumatic
gun.
Federal regulations say slaughterhouses must be successful with a single shot.
Other
clips show cattle with udders so swollen they are unable to keep their
legs under them to walk, and workers trying to lift downed cattle using
their tails.
Compassion Over Killing also provided the video to
the district attorney’s office in Kings County, where the plant is
located. The office is following the federal investigation before
deciding whether to file state cruelty charges.
The case has
attracted the attention of Temple Grandin, a professor of animal science
at Colorado State University and subject of a documentary about her
life working with livestock behavior issues while she struggled with
autism.
In a release distributed by the American Meat Institute,
she said some video clips of cows twitching after being shot in the head
with a pneumatic gun are normal reflexes, but she did note some
problems.
"I did observe some overly aggressive and unacceptable
use of electric prods with non-ambulatory cattle and in sensitive areas
like the face," she wrote. "I would classify this as egregious animal
abuse."
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Tracie Cone can be reached at http://www.twitter.com/TConeAP
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press.