February 19, 2008
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) on Sunday, February 17, ordered the recall of 143 million pounds of frozen beef from a California company that provided meat to school lunch programs and is the subject of an animal-abuse investigation. The USDA indicated the recall will affect beef products dating back to Feb. 1, 2006, that came from Hallmark/Westland Meat Company of Chino, California.

On January 30, the USDA issued a product hold on Hallmark/Westland ground beef and suspended the company as a supplier. While the ground beef product from Hallmark/Westland was on our inventory list, it was immediately put on hold and removed from use in our District following this communication from the USDA on January 30.

Yesterday’s recall is considered a “Class II Product Recall.” A Class II product recall is considered a low health risk and defined as a situation where there is a remote possibility of adverse health consequences from use of the product.

The CH-UH City School District’s and Chartwells’ top priority is the health and safety of our students and staff, and our food service programs are in full compliance with government safety and sanitation codes and regulations, as well as local health codes. In addition, we practice a sophisticated food safety, sanitation, and Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point program. The District will continue to monitor the situation for any further instructions from the USDA.

Complete Recall Information from the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service