Free Republic

BREAKING NEWS updated 9 minutes ago LOS ANGELES - The U.S. Department of Agriculture on Sunday recalled 143 million pounds of frozen beef from a Southern California slaughterhouse that is being investigated for mistreating cattle. Officials said it was the largest beef recall in the United States, surpassing a 1999 ban of 35 million pounds of ready-to-eat meats. The federal agency said the recall will affect beef products dating to Feb. 1, 2006, that came from Chino-based Westland/Hallmark Meat Co., which supplies meat to the federal school lunch program and to some major fast-food chains.This breaking news story will be...

USDA Bans Downer Cattle from Human Food Tue December 30, 2003 04:12 PM ET By Charles Abbott WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman said on Tuesday the government was banning downer cattle -- animals at the slaughter plant too sick or injured to walk on their own -- from being used as food for humans. Veneman told a news conference the Agriculture Department would continue its "aggressive surveillance" of cattle for neurological ailments that could signal mad cow disease. Meat from those animals cannot be sold until tests show they are free of mad cow disease, she said....