Many Pa. schools got recalled beef

HARRISBURG - More than 190 Pennsylvania school districts, including at least 19 in the Philadelphia area, received beef products from a California plant that issued a nationwide recall this week.

State Agriculture Secretary Dennis Wolff said that while the health risk was low, the agency had told districts to dispose of any remaining beef.

Because the recall affects products dating to 2006, most of the 126,000 pounds of beef shipped to Pennsylvania schools has likely been eaten. But thousands of pounds remain in school freezers, state officials said. Which districts still have the beef has not been determined.

On Sunday, the Westland/Hallmark Meat Co., of Chino, recalled 143 million pounds of raw and frozen beef products - the largest such recall in U.S. history - after an undercover video revealed workers abusing sick and injured animals at the plant.

U.S. Department of Agriculture officials estimate that 37 million pounds of the recalled beef went to schools for the National School Lunch Program.

Pennsylvania food inspectors will check for recall compliance as they inspect schools in the coming weeks, Wolff said.

For a list of the districts, go to the state Department of Agriculture's Web site via http://go.philly.com/beefEndText