By Amna Nawaz, NBC News Investigative Unit Producer
The U.S. Department of Agriculture took action today against a Southern California-based meat supplier, suspending all production and delivery of its products after an animal-rights group released video from an undercover investigation at the company's plant.
The video - shot, edited, and released by the Humane Society and now posted on its website -- is the result of a six-week investigation that took place in October and November of 2007. It shows "downer" cows - too sick or injured to stand on their own - being poked in the eye, kicked in the face, and electrically shocked by employees at the slaughterhouse operated by the Westland Meat Company in Chino, California. Some animals are seen being lifted or pushed along the ground by a forklift, in an effort to force them to stand for investigation. Another cow has a high-pressure water hose aimed at its nose, in an attempt to get it to stand on its own.
In a statement today, Westland Meat Co. president Steve Mendell said he was "shocked, saddened and sickened" by the video, but placed the blame squarely on two employees shown in the video. The employees, according to Mendell, were "acting in disregard of...high company standards." Both employees were fired, a supervisor suspended, and operations at the facility suspended.
Wayne Pacelle, president of the Humane Society, equated the animals' handling at the facility to torture in a press conference today, at which the video was publicly released.
"They were being prodded and tormented and tortured to get them walking, to get them into the slaughterhouse."
The Humane Society investigator claims most of the animals in the video, but not all, were eventually slaughtered and made their way into the food supply. The USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service prohibits the use of downer animals for use in human food. The company says that none of the downer cattle depicted in the video was sold as meat.
Dr. Michael Chaddock, executive director at the Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges, expressed concerned about potential food-safety hazards after watching the video.
"There's a reason why downer animals are not supposed to go into the slaughter chain," says Chaddock. "There are reasons they're down in the first place -- could be illness or neurological problems -- reasons that could increase the risk that the meat is contaminated."
Among those risks, says Chaddock, the possibility of pathogens like E. coli, Salmonella, or bovine spongiform encephalopathy, BVE -- better known by its common name, "mad cow disease."
Where the meat could have gone once it left Westland--Americas’ schools--could be of greater concern.
Westland Meat Co. is the second-largest supplier of beef to the USDA's procurement division, which contracts with agricultural producers for food supplies, eventually distributed through Federally administered programs for the needy, elderly, and the National School Lunch Program.
The Lunch Program, administered by the USDA, is a federally subsidized meal program operating in over 100,000 schools and child-care facilities across the country. In 2007, the USDA paid over $38,000 to Westland for beef products, eventually distributed to 36 states.
Sen. Richard Durbin (D-Illinois), who worked in stock yards and meat-packing plants during his college years, today called the video “as awful as it gets.” He sent letters to the USDA officials, expressing his concern over the “inhumane practices,” and urging the agency’s inspection branch to improve its efforts to safeguard the food supply.
“Certainly for food going into the school-lunch program, we ought to go that extra step, and be as safe as possible,” said Durbin.
In its own statement today, issued late this afternoon, the USDA Secretary Ed Schafer announced an investigation had been launched through the Inspector General's office, and said he was "deeply concerned" about the allegations, but remained "confident" in the federal food inspection system. As a precautionary measure, the agency indefinitely suspended Westland as a supplier to federal food programs, placing an "administrative hold" on all Westland products that are already in or headed for the programs.
Schafer expressed disappointment, however, that the Humane Society did not present its findings to federal authorities sooner, saying an investigation could have been launched earlier.
A spokesperson for the Humane Society told NBC News today that after a month of fact-checking and sorting through hours of videotape, it handed over its findings in December of 2007 to local law enforcement in San Bernardino County, in which Westland Meat Co. is located. The spokesperson said local authorities, conducting their own research into the criminal matter, requested the animal rights group withhold its findings for the time being.
To watch the video, visit the Humane Society website: http://www.hsus.org/
To read the full response from Westland Meat Company, visit its website: http://westlandmeat.com/index.htm
To read the full statement from USDA, visit: http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal?contentidonly=true&contentid=2008/01/0025.xml
