Beef recalled from local Brunswick schools
North Brunswick is clear; South Brunswick has disposed of the meat
BY JENNIFER AMATO Staff Writer
The North and South Brunswick school districts are part of a recall of beef products by the Hallmark/Westland Meat Packing Co. of Chino, Calif.

According to a press release from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, 143 million pounds of beef have been recalled nationally. The "class two" recall means the products have only a remote possibility of causing adverse health effects.

Three meat processors, Pierre Foods of Ohio, Maid-Rite Steak Company of Pennsylvania and Silver Springs Farmof Pennsylvania, received 168,000 pounds of coarse ground beef between February 2006 and February 2008. The meat included taco meat, cooked beef patties, frozen steaks, meatballs and beef barbecue nuggets.

Since the end of January, beef used for federal food assistance programs, including the National School Lunch Program, were to be removed from schools and other holding facilities and destroyed.

In North Brunswick, no recalled beef was found in any of the district's inventory, according to Schools Superintendent Brian Zychowski.

"Fortunately, we do not have any in stock and we haven't used any in the near past," Zychowski said.

A statement issued by the district's food service provider, Chartwells, also said that "after a complete review of our inventory, we have found the ground beef product fromWestland is not in use at our school district," according to Adam Sawchak. "Our food service programs are in full compliance with government safety and sanitation codes and regulations, as well as all local health codes. … Chartwells' quality assurance team will continue to monitor the situation for any further instructions."

In South Brunswick, a message posted on the district'sWeb site says that they did receive some of the beef that has been recalled and that "the district immediately removed the beef from our supplies and will follow the directives from the federal government for proper disposal of these products. Any beef that is part of our ongoing menu is beef purchased apart from the federal commodities and has passed the rigorous standards of the Department of Agriculture."

Rebecca Leonard, the public information officer for the district, said South Brunswick received 12 cases of recalled beef, and the disposal methods were carried out by Chartwells.

"To date, we have not received any parent inquiries. Should a child become ill, parents are encouraged to see their family physician," she said.

For more information, visit www.state.nj.us/agriculture or either of the school district Web sites.