County landfill buries recalled beef

The King County landfill is burying thousands of cases of recalled beef this week as area school districts dump potentially contaminated meat from Westland Meat of Chino, Calif.

The districts are tossing the meat as part of a U.S. Department of Agriculture recall of 143 million pounds of beef nationwide.

A video released in early February showed slaughterhouse workers at Hallmark Meat Packing using forklifts to move or prod "downer cows," those that were too sick to get up. Westland Meat, which grinds meat, gets meat from Hallmark.

A USDA investigation prompted the recall, and this week districts are getting rid of meat they had set aside.

As was the case in many districts, Seattle Public Schools stopped serving beef when the recall was announced. Seattle will put beef back on menus this week, said district spokesman David Tucker.

Seattle dumped 230 cases of beef — 20- to 30-pound boxes of precooked hamburgers, "teriyaki dippers," baby-back ribs and other meals.

There's no official tally, but over the next week, King County's Cedar Hills Regional Landfill expects to take in thousands of cases from several area districts, including Lake Washington, Federal Way, Highline, Northshore and Bellevue, said Logan Harris, a spokesman for King County Solid Waste Division.

Public Health — Seattle & King County is overseeing the meat's disposal to certify that it was destroyed. The federal government will either reimburse the districts for meat or replace it, Tucker said.

About 100 districts around the state received raw beef from Westland in November and December. Many other districts buy precooked beef products such as hamburger patties that also may have beef from Westland.

No health problems have been linked to the meat, and USDA officials have said they believe the meat poses little or no hazard to consumers. Most of it was likely consumed before the recall. Downer cows may have a higher risk of being infected with mad-cow disease, E. coli and salmonella, according to the Humane Society of the United States.

At the 920-acre Cedar Hills landfill in Maple Valley, the meat was kept in boxes and mixed with other waste, Harris said. Then it was buried in 15-foot layers and covered by about 6 inches of dirt. The landfill has a clay barrier and a plastic liner under all its waste to prevent contamination.

Information from The Seattle Times archives was included in this report.

Emily Heffter: 206-464-8246

or eheffter@seattletimes.com