Feb 4, 2008 6:36 pm US/Mountain
Hold Order Put On Beef Served At Public Schools
Reporting
Paul Day
EDGEWATER, Colo. (CBS4) ―
Public school districts across the Denver metro area have temporarily stopped serving beef in their cafeterias. The federal government took action after an undercover investigation by the Humane Society.
Districts including Denver, Cherry Creek, and Jefferson and Douglas counties are complying with the "hold order" for beef products.
"We were notified this morning to put a hold on all of our beef products," said Hope Hicks, kitchen manager at Lumberg Elementary School in Edgewater.
The hold order is due to a Humane Society undercover investigation that revealed sick or crippled cattle at a government inspected slaughterhouse, raising the possibility of mad cow disease.
The Humane Society claims the food supply may be at risk. There's no evidence to prove that yet, but the United States Department of Agriculture ordered the hold on beef in schools as a precaution.
"Beef will be off the menu for a little while," Lumberg Principal Shatta Garcia Mejia said. "We can get an answer from our district soon and we can start to serve again."
In the meantime, school menus are being altered. On a normal day, the soft taco and the taco salad would be made with beef, instead they've substituted chicken. The entire beef product is being stored in the cafeteria freezer, pending an all clear from the government.
"I think what's most important is not to get too excited," Mejia said.
It is a precautionary hold and not a beef recall. The government is investigating the Westland Meat Company. Westland has been suspended as a supplier to the government's food and nutrition programs. The alleged violations happened last fall.
Nobody has gotten sick, but the secretary of agriculture said it's unfortunate the Humane Society didn't share the information sooner.
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