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No recalled beef here A California company's beef recall had no impact on the Cherokee County school lunch programs, food service director Roland Cabading said Monday afternoon. Hallmark/Westland Meat Company of Chino announced Feb. 17 it has voluntarily recalled 143 million pounds of raw and frozen beef products. Most of the beef was sent to distribution centers in bulk packages and was not available for purchase by consumers. The recall was ordered after the federal Food Safety and Inspection Service determined beef products from the Southern California slaughterhouse were unfit for consumption because the cattle did not receive complete and proper inspections. Pierre Foods Inc., the meat supplier for Cherokee County schools, was not affected by the recall. Its manufacturing facilities are located in Cincinnati and Claremont, N.C. "We received a major shipment of beef commodities last week," Cabading said. "I spoke with our vendor on Monday and was reassured the students' meat was safe to eat." The school district does regular food safety checks for quality control in the school lunch programs, Cabading said. A taste test will be conducted with district food vendors before lunch Thursday at the Gaffney Middle cafeteria. "We regularly test our food before it is served in cafeterias," he said. The U.S. Department of Agriculture asked school district food services Jan. 30 to place beef from certain vendors on hold to prevent it from being served to students. About 150 school districts nationwide have stopped using ground beef from the Hallmark/Westland Meat Company. Food recalls are common. When a product is recalled, Cabading currently notifies all school cafeteria supervisors by phone or e-mail. The state Department of Education is currently working on a rapid food response system to use in school food services. Cabading said he hopes the system will be implemented statewide within the next several months. |
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