Chino beef inspectors put on leave
At least two federal employees are sidelined by the USDA in the wake of the largest-ever beef recall.
At least two federal inspectors who worked at the now-shuttered Chino plant at the center of the largest-ever beef recall have been put on paid leave, union officials said today.
Stan Painter, president of the National Joint Council of Food Inspection Locals, said a USDA labor relations representative confirmed to him the administrative leaves of one inspector and one supervisor, but would not discuss word of forced leave for another supervisor.
U.S. Department of Agriculture officials said today they would have nothing to say about the case.
"We are unable to comment because of the ongoing investigation," said USDA spokeswoman Angie Harless.
Forced leaves would mark the first action taken by the department against the inspectors at Hallmark/Westland. At the time of the recall, USDA officials said employees at the plant failed to follow regulations requiring them to notify federal authorities working at the plant when cattle collapse after the initial pre-slaughter inspection.
Paul Carney, western council president of the National Joint Council of Food Inspection Locals, called the decision to put supervisors on paid leave appropriate.
"That's who the responsible parties are," he said.
But he disagreed with the decision to put an inspector on leave, saying "no inspectors ... were responsible for this."
He said that the inspector in question was specifically instructed to have no role in the pre-slaughter screening of animals, the point at which so-called "downer" cows would be discovered.
The possibility that "downer" cows entered the food chain came to light in late January when the Humane Society of the United States released a video shot by an undercover investigator showing Hallmark/Westland employees forcing weak dairy cattle to their feet using forklifts, electric prods, and high-pressure water hoses.
More than two weeks later, the USDA recalled 143 million pounds of beef processed at the plant, about a third of which had gone to schools nationwide for lunch programs.
Authorities have repeatedly expressed confidence in the federal meat inspection system that has 7,800 inspectors at 6,200 facilities nationwide.
Five USDA inspectors worked on-site at the Chino slaughterhouse and meat packing company. Officials eventually recalled all beef produced by the plant in the last two years, saying some non-ambulatory cattle -- which are banned from human food because of higher risks of bovine spongiform encephalopathy -- may have been slaughtered.
Hallmark/Westland was the second-largest supplier of ground beef to the USDA-run federal food assistance programs.
victoria.kim@latimes.com
