The Hanford meat company promises to start the investigation over plastic found in its ground beef after announcing a major recall affecting 58,240 pounds of ground beef.
The ground beef products manufactured by the Central Valley Meat Co. based in Central California was supposed to be used by the National School Lunch program. The products were shipped to distribution centers across California, Texas, Montana and Arkansas on April 1. The products being recalled are 40-pound cases of 10-pound patty of fine ground beef that may contain small pieces of foreign particles, noted as plastic.
The products have the establishment number “Est. 6063A” within the USDA Mark of Inspection and can additionally be identified by case code "6063A3091A" or "6063A3091B."
The investigation aims to find out how the plastic got mixed in the patties.
Brian Coelho, general manager of the Hanford plant said to Fresno Bee, "Central Valley Meat is working diligently to identify and address the source of the problem. We will strive to not only maintain but improve the safety of our product, since food safety has always been our No. 1 priority."
Fortunately, The U.S. Department of Agriculture, Fresno and Clovis Unified claimed that no cases of any illnesses and injuries have been reported from eating the meat.
This has not been the first time the Central Valley Meat Co. had been placed under spotlight.
In August, the company suspended its operations for about a week subsequent to the release of an undercover clip revealing acts of animal cruelty. The secretly recorded clip set off the U.S. Department of Agriculture to pull out its meat inspectors.
During that time, U.S. Department of Agriculture officials said their act is considered “inhumane treatment of animals at slaughter facilities to be unacceptable.”
