State schools chief issues instructions on meat recall
Published: February 19, 2008
State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O’Connell directed the California Department of Education on Feb. 19 to send information to school districts on procedures to follow regarding any recalled ground beef they may have from Hallmark/Westland Meat Packing Co. and on how to file for reimbursement from the National School Lunch Program.
O’Connell took the action after the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Feb. 17 recall order for Hallmark/Westland Meat products distributed over the past two years.
“Our understanding is that the CDE would ... expedite our reimbursement to schools that incurred expenses in paying for the National School Lunch Program food that then had to be destroyed,” O’Connell said. “Our Nutrition Services Division will work closely with school districts to seek reimbursement as quickly as possible.”
Earlier in February, school governing boards were warned to be especially vigilant about the safety of food served on campus in the aftermath of recent USDA warnings about problems with ground beef products produced by Westland. As an extra precaution, USDA officials advised all public agencies not to serve any food that contained ground beef until they could identify all products that might contain Westland meat.
The CDE Web site has a federal advisory with more details about food distributors and commodity processors that use Westland beef. As O’Connell noted in his Feb. 19 announcement, there have not been any reports of illness among California students who may have eaten the beef.
“Because the health and well-being of our children are at stake, governance teams should ensure measures are in place to determine that the food and beverages being consumed at school are safe,” said Martin Gonzalez, CSBA’s assistant executive director for Governance and Policy Services.
An October 2007 CSBA Governance and Policy Services fact sheet has useful information that can help governance teams understand food safety issues and find resources for effective action.
Related links:
* Read state Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O’Connell’s statement about the Westland Meat Co. investigation @ http://www.cde.ca.gov/nr/ne/yr08/yr08rel19.asp.
* Access CSBA’s Food Safety Requirements Fact Sheet @ www.csba.org/Services/Services/PolicyServices/~/media/Files/Services/PolicyServices/PolicyBriefs/PSE1397foodsafetyfacts.ashx.