School Districts Hold Questionable Beef

Although no students have been sick in Georgia, the State Department of Education is putting a hold on beef served in more than 25 school districts, including some local ones.

The State school superintendent says the districts have pulled the meat because it could be tainted.

The districts affected in our area are Dalton City, Murray County, Fannin County, Gordon County and Floyd County.

USDA inspectors say they won't know whether or not the meat was tainted until next week, when the investigation will be finished.

Georgia school administrators do not know if any tainted meat from the Westland-Hallmark Meat Company was served to students.

The slaughterhouse is in California and under federal investigation for mistreating animals.

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.

States have been banning the Westland meat in schools since the USDA alerted states to the potentially tainted beef on January 31st. Those states include Idaho, South Dakota, Hawaii, Montana, Minnesota, Oregon, Iowa and Washington state.