Chino, Calif. — A California meat company recalled 143 million pounds of beef last month in response to animal-abuse allegations that center on purported efforts to sneak sick and injured cattle into the U.S. food system.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and its legal arm, the Office of the Inspector General, are investigating.

Keeping an eye on the nations food

The recall, described as the largest in U.S. history, comes after undercover video from the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) showed Hallmark Meat Packing Co. handlers allegedly using electric shock, forklifts, high-intensity water sprays and brute force to make downer cattle walk to slaughter. Such tactics violate a federal ban on the slaughter of downer cattle for food, which acts as a safeguard against bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) and other diseases.

The slaughter plant is a supplier for its sister business, Westland Meat Co., which processes the carcasses and provides beef for USDA's National School Lunch Program and other public-feeding services. At press time, both companies suspended their operations.

In a Feb. 17 news release, Agriculture Secretary Ed Schafer says he's "dismayed at the inhumane handling of cattle that has resulted in the violation of food safety regulations at the Hallmark/Westland Meat Packing Co." While it's "extremely unlikely" that the animals were at risk for contracting BSE, Schafer says, the action is necessary because plant procedures violated USDA regulations.

"USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) has evidence that Hallmark/Westland did not consistently contact the FSIS public health veterinarian in situations in which cattle became nonambulatory after passing ante-mortem inspection, which is not compliant with FSIS regulations," Schafer says. "Because the cattle did not receive complete and proper inspection, FSIS has determined them to be unfit for human food, and the company is conducting a recall."

Veterinary medicine responds

In the meantime, veterinary medicine's leaders are reacting to the allegations. Statements issued separately by the American Veterinary Medical Association and American Association of Bovine Practitioners (AABP) address footage shot by an HSUS member and distributed on the group's Web site.

In a Feb. 6 release, AABP officials characterized images in the video as "deplorable." AVMA Executive Vice President Dr. Ron DeHaven responded with an editorial letter to the Washington Post calling for "the strictest penalties if the allegations are confirmed" and citing a need for more public-health veterinarians.

DA files criminal charges in slaughterhouse case

The letter was not published.

Company stance

In a Feb. 3 statement, Steve Mendell, president of Westland and Hallmark, reports that company officials retained a veterinarian formerly with the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service to independently audit the plant's operations.

"Words cannot accurately express how shocked and horrified I was at the depictions contained on the video that was taken by an individual who worked at our facility from Oct. 3 through Nov. 14, 2007," Mendell says in a statement.

AABP President Michael Bolton says that although he can't attest to the video's authenticity, he questions Mendell's ignorance of the situation.

"Most people don't run their business at that arm's length," he says. "From what we can see, the class of cattle in that slaughterhouse had no business even being considered for food. Even if the footage is not valid, anyone who sees it knows that somewhere, someone was squirting water up a Holstein's nose. We represent 5,000 veterinarians who have their livelihood in food-animal medicine; we consider this our business, no matter where the animal cruelty exists."