Update 11:00 a.m: Idaho’s Department of Education has issued a correction saying the removal of the ground beef from schools is technically not a “recall” but a “product retrieval.” According to a USDA spokesman the difference is who bought it. Legally speaking, a recall is issued by a company on retail products. Because the beef was not sold to the public it can’t be recalled.
Original Post: Idaho’s Department of Education says ground beef sold to schools is being recalled by Central Valley Meat Company. The meat may contain small pieces of plastic. No injuries have been reported.
The meat was sold to 86 Idaho school food authorities between July and last week. Those ‘food authorities’ include 78 public school districts and charter schools. Most of them are small districts, but the list includes some larger ones such as Caldwell and Vallivue. Some private schools and the state’s juvenile correction system also purchased the beef.
Schools with the product on hand have been asked to email Idaho’s Department of Education with how many cases they have. The Department will then have contractor, Northwest Distribution, pick up and replace the ground beef.
Central Valley Meat Company out of Hanford California has been in the news before. The company is a major supplier to the USDA and its school lunch program. Last year it was suspended from selling to the government after a video depicting animal cruelty in a Central Valley facility was posted online.
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