February 19, 2008

Dear Parents:

You have probably heard news reports about the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s recall on ground beef from a California slaughterhouse that is being investigated for mistreating cattle. The recall affects beef products that came from the Westland/Hallmark Meat Company, based in Chino, California.

The Westland/Hallmark Meat Company supplies meat to many school lunch programs, including Mt. Morris Consolidated Schools. Please be assured that the district has pulled any ground beef it has received from this company through our commodity distribution center. Unfortunately, we believe a small portion of the beef may have been served last month before the district received a notice to place a hold on the meat. In fact, according to news reports, USDA officials estimate about 37 million pounds of the recalled beef went to school programs. It is believed that most of the meat has already been eaten. There have been no reported illnesses linked to the beef at any of the schools.

Please note that future purchases from the Westland/Hallmark Meat Company have been suspended. Ground beef from a different company has been purchased and is being used for our school lunch program.

The district wants to do everything possible to keep our students healthy and safe. When the district receives a recall notice such as this, our Food Services Coordinator contacts each of our cooks and the product is immediately pulled from the shelves. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to call your child’s school office or Jackie Coffey, Food Service Coordinator, at 591-3412.

Sincerely,

Lisa Hagel
Superintendent