USDA is refusing to make a list of at least 10,000 food distributors public following the Hallmark/Westland slaughterhouse scandal last month. Apparently, the recalled meat could still be on grocery store shelves.

The American Meat Institute and other trade groups say they don't want to "confuse" consumers or drive them away from particular brands by disclosing this product information.

Isn't that the point of a food recall?

Then again, USDA's meat recall didn't involve all the important players. Yes, USDA recalled meat from its federal programs, like the National School Lunch Program. But when it comes to the hundreds of food retailers and manufacturers who used Hallmak/Westland meat, the recall was optional.

USDA's list of restaurants and food services that purchased Hallmark/Westland meat is growing (it's currently 120 pages long), but the agency has labeled this information "proprietary," making it extremely difficult for consumers to avoid meat possibly derived from downer cows.

According to food manufacturers, the recall is not mandatory. That is, USDA neither contacted nor obligated food distributors and manufacturers to disclose products that contain meat from Hallmark/Westland. USDA only "urged" Hallmark/Westland to contact food manufacturers who use its meat and ask them to pull these products from store shelves.

A few companies have recalled some of their products, but in a silent manner. Unlike other food recalls, there were no press releases or messages on websites to convey product recall information. Some of these companies include Costco, Nestle, General Mills, Heinz, and ConAgra.

And so the Hallmark/Westland saga continues. Only now there are familiar brands to link to the downer cows in the Humane Society's awful video footage: Slim Jim beef sticks, Progresso soup, Hot Pockets, and Hunt's Manwich Sloppy Joes, to name a few of what are likely hundreds if not thousands of food products.

Sources: Chicago Tribune and CommonDreams.org

Comments (15)

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written by Terra, March 13, 2008

The more I learn about them, the more the USDA just seems like one big joke to me. They have pathetic standards for the health and welfare of the nation, including their ridiculous bias towards unhealthy and unethical animal product industries, and the fact that they run so many important programs like the NSLP makes that fact crucial to keep in mind. Recalls are usually not mandatory and nor is disclosing a lot of information such as this that the public needs to know.

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