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USDA Shuts Calif. Beef Processor in Cruelty Probe |
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| US: February 7, 2008 | ||
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WASHINGTON - The US Agriculture Department has withdrawn its inspectors from a California beef processor, effectively closing Westland Meat Co and Hallmark Meat Packing Co as part of an investigation of alleged cruelty to cattle, the agency said.
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Richard Raymond, USDA's undersecretary for food safety, said in a statement on Tuesday night that Westland "will not be allowed to operate until written corrective actions are submitted and verified by (USDA) to ensure that animals are humanely handled." Westland voluntarily stopped operations on Friday, two days after an affiliate, Hallmark Meat Packing Co, of Chino, California, was accused of mistreating disabled or "downer" cattle. Withdrawal of federal inspectors means a plant cannot sell meat across state borders and effectively shuts down a plant. The Humane Society of the United States released videotapes on Jan. 30 that showed Hallmark Meat workers using a variety of abusive techniques to force unfit cattle into the slaughterhouse. Raymond said USDA put a "hold" on all Westland products on Jan. 30 and suspended Westland indefinitely as a supplier to federal nutrition programs, such as school lunch. In a statement on Westland's Web site, Steve Mendell, president of Westland and Hallmark, said, "we have taken swift action regarding the two employees identified on the video" and that the companies were cooperating in the USDA investigation. (Reporting by Charles Abbott; editing by Jim Marshall)
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REUTERS NEWS SERVICE
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