Inspectors Saw Cattle Being Pulled into Cargill Plant
The Cargill-owned beef processor in California that recently recalled 826,000 pounds of ground beef products out of concern it might be tied to a ground beef Salmonella outbreak was caught last year stunning cattle and dragging them into the plant unconscious.
Lester Friedlander, a former USDA veterinary inspector, told The Associated Press that such a practice could increase the risk for E. coli and Salmonella contamination. That's because cow hides can pick up the bacteria from feces that sometimes collect around the plant entry chutes, Friedlander said.
The AP story by reporter Garance Burke in Fresno said the dragging of knocked-out animals was witnessed by U.S. Department of Agriculture auditors who inspected Fresno-based Beef Packers Inc. in March 2008. Their report said workers were using electric prods to herd cattle into the slaughterhouse.
When three cows refused to budge, they were rendered unconscious "so that they could be pulled through the restrainer to be shackled, hung and bled,'' the inspection report said.
According to the AP, Cargill Meat Solutions appealed the alleged violations and the USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service later rescinded the violations and sent Beef Packers a letter of concern.
Dan Thompson, a professor with Kansas State University's Beef Cattle Institute, said problems with animal handling do not necessarily lead to meat contamination.
Neither Cargill nor the USDA has provided details about what prompted last week's major recall, which was followed by a Safeway ground beef recall and Von's recall. Health officials in Colorado, California and Wyoming have said a total of 28 illnesses have been associated with the recalled beef. Twenty one of the illnesses were reported in Colorado, where the meat was sold at Sam's Club and Safeway stores.
If you or someone you love was sickened in the Cargill Salmonella outbreak, contact a Salmonella attorney at Pritzker Olsen attorneys. As one of the country's leading food safety law firms, our firm has collected tens of millions of dollars for victims of food poisoning. If we agree to take your case, we don't get paid unless you get paid. To contact us, call 1-888-377-8900 (Toll Free) or complete our form online to receive a free Salmonella compensation case consultation.
Pritzker Olsen founder and president Fred Pritzker has warned that the strain of Salmonella Newport involved in this multi-state Salmonella outbreak is resistant to antibiotics normally used to treat such infections.
