Press Release 3-1-08 — Northern Valley Regional High School District

 

 

 

NJ Department of Agriculture Beef Recall

 

 

 

The Northern Valley Regional High School District does not participate in the National School Lunch Program and was not affected by the recent United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) recall. Since the District does not participate, the District did not receive the processed commodity foods that were part of the recently announced recall.

 

The USDA announced a recall of beef products coming from the Hallmark/Westfield Meat Packing Company of California. The USDA has deemed this to be a “Class Two” recall, meaning the products in question have a remote possibility of causing adverse health affects. Nationwide, more than 143 million pounds of beef are being recalled.

 

Some background information about food safety is that all meat transported and sold in interstate commerce must be federally inspected. The Food Safety and Inspection Service carry out the USDA’s responsibilities.

 

The District and the food service staff take their commitment to the health and well-being of the children in our schools very seriously. We want to assure everyone in the community that we have always been and will always be vigilant and even obsessive about the safety of the food we serve our children. The District follows the strictest food safety standards, and in the very rare event that we need to address a problem, we do so quickly and openly.

 

The District, of course, will persist in monitoring this recall and continuously verify that the health and safety of the children are being protected.