WASHINGTON, DC -- Today, US Senator Herb Kohl (D-WI), chairman of the Senate Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee, held a hearing on the recent beef recall from California-based Westland/Hallmark Meat Co. to demand greater vigilance on the part of the US Department of Agriculture in maintaining food safety.

At the hearing, Senator Kohl called on Secretary of Agriculture Ed Schafer, who was among the witnesses testifying, to enforce tougher standards, continuous surveillance and stiffer penalties at meat processing plants to prevent all downer cattle from entering the food supply.

"We do not want another Westland/Hallmark situation anywhere in the country," Kohl said. "We cannot allow a single downer cow to enter our food supply under any circumstances. We must have tougher standards, round-the-clock surveillance and stiffer penalties to ensure our meat inspection system protects Americans.

"I am particularly troubled by the implications this incident has for the national school lunch program and our children. What happens in the feedlot or the slaughterhouse ends up in school lunchrooms."

Senator Kohl outlined a plan to prevent recurrence of future incidents similar to the Westland/Hallmark recall, in which 143 million pounds of beef were recalled, after undercover video surfaced of animals too sick to stand -- much less walk -- being dragged, fork-lifted, kicked, jabbed and dumped into America's food supply. The Feb. 17 recall was the single largest in US history.

Specifically, Senator Kohl pressed Secretary Schafer to:

• Audit all 900 meat processing plants that slaughter cattle to make sure they have language-appropriate materials for their workers and that those employees receive sufficient training. The Senator asked that the audit of the 23 plants that supply meat and poultry to the USDA nutrition programs is completed in no more than 30 days.

• Install camera monitors on every slaughter line at meat processing plants. These cameras would ensure that at no part in the process do downer cows go undetected by FSIS inspectors.

• Close the loophole in the downer cattle ban to ensure all animals, even those that pass initial inspection, are not slaughtered and allowed to enter the food supply if they cannot stand in the slaughter line. In 2003, USDA reported the first case of Mad Cow Disease in the country and the agency immediately issued a ban of downer cattle from the food supply. Last year, USDA weakened the rule, which was blatantly flouted at the Westland/Hallmark Meat Co. plant.

Senator Kohl also asked the Secretary for input on legislation to prevent future failures of the agency's meat inspection and urged a "bright line" rule banning downer cattle from the food supply.

"Here is an opportunity for USDA to be part of the solution rather than part of the problem," Kohl said. "This is a very, very serious issue. It affects food safety, it affects our children, it affects our trade partners and it affects our markets. We must fulfill our fundamental responsibility in fixing this problem, strengthening our laws and protecting our children."

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