MOUNT VERNON — The recall of beef from California-based Westland/Hallmark Meat Co. has had an affect on local schools. In a joint communiqué dated Feb. 10, the Ohio Department of Education and the USDA, which supplied the meat to the schools through the commodities program, advised schools to place certain meat items on “hold” until further notice.
Centerburg Local Schools, according to high school secretary Sue Reynolds, did have a few of the items that have been recalled. They have been removed from the menu, Reynolds said, and will not be used in any way at Centerburg, until further notice.
The food service department at East Knox, superintendent John Marschhausen said, did a great job in identifying and removing the relevant items. They checked all the bar codes and pulled three cases of hamburgers at the high school and four or five cases of taco meat at the elementary even before the story hit the national news media.
Gayle Beck, cafeteria supervisor at Danville Local Schools, said their meat supply was not affected by the recall. “We checked all of our items last week,” she said, “and we didn’t have any with the (recalled) code.” Neither did North Fork Schools, according to food service supervisor JoAnn Walton.
The Knox County Career Center cafeteria had 10 cases of food affected by the recall. Cafeteria supervisor Bonnie Hinkle said she tagged all 10, put them on hold, and reported that to the USDA.
Kelly Stanford, food service coordinator at Clear Fork, said the district typically uses 8,000 to 9,000 pounds of beef each year. All of the affected items have been identified, and the district is obtaining an alternate supply from different manufacturers. Stanford said a memo from Westland/Hallmark said the manufacturer is “hopeful” that there will be some sort of reimbursement to the schools for the items or replacement at no charge.
None of the reportedly tainted meat was found at Fredericktown High School or Intermediate School, but three cases of taco meat were discovered at the elementary. Those cases have been pulled, said Superintendent Dan Humphrey, and will not be served.
