ATLANTA - Some northest Georgia schools are among 28 school districts in the state who have been ordered to stop serving potentially tainted beef.
Barrow, Forsyth, Gwinnett, Jackson and Pickens county schools have all been asked to pull the meat from their shelves.
Gaineville and Hall County schools are not on the list.
Cookie Palmer, Director of School Nutrition for Hall County, said Wednesday "We have been monitoring this issue since it was brought to our attention by USDA authorities on January 31st. We have contacted all of our beef suppliers and we do not have any of the product that has been placed on hold."
The Georgia Department of Education has ordered the school districts to stop serving beef supplied by a California slaughterhouse under federal investigation for mistreating animals.
Georgia Schools Superintendent Kathy Cox said 28 districts so far have pulled the meat after the U.S. Department of Agriculture alerted state officials that it could be tainted. Cox said officials won't know for sure whether the meat was tainted until Feb. 19, when federal authorities finish their investigation into the Chino, Calif., based Westland/Hallmark Meat Company.
Federal officials are looking into whether the slaughterhouse shipped meat from disabled animals - known as ``downer'' cows - because they are considered too sick or injured to walk. Federal regulations call for keeping downer cows out of the food supply because they may pose a higher risk of E. coli, salmonella contamination or mad cow disease.
The facility is a major supplier to a USDA program that distributes beef through the National School Lunch Program.
Georgia officials do not know if the suspect meat was served to students. Cox said there are no reports of students feeling sick.
States have been banning the Westland meat in schools since the USDA alerted states to the potentially tainted beef on Jan. 31. Those states include Idaho, South Dakota, Hawaii, Montana, Minnesota, Oregon, Iowa and Washington state.
Friday
January 24th, 2025
3:27AM
