'Unsanitary' Central Valley Slaughterhouse That Supplies School Lunch Meat Reopens

HANFORD, Kings County (AP) — A Central Valley meat processing plant that was shuttered by federal inspectors Monday because of unsanitary conditions has reopened.

Officials at Central Valley Meat Co. said in a statement Wednesday that they took immediate action to fix the cleanliness problems. Neither the company nor federal officials discussed the problems in detail.

Central Valley Meat Co. is a supplier for the National School Lunch Program.

Alexandra Tarrant, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service, confirmed in a statement Wednesday that the company took corrective actions and the plant has resumed operations.

The plant is in Hanford, about 30 miles south of Fresno.

In 2012, Central Valley Meat Co. shut down for a week after Compassion Over Killing, an animal rights group, sent videos to federal officials showing workers torturing cows with electric prods and spraying hot water on the animals.

The abuse led to the end of the company's relationship with In-N-Out restaurants. The national lunch program and McDonald's also suspended purchases.

Federal inspectors didn't find that the animals' treatment affected food safety.

The facility reopened after submitting a plan of action that included training its workers to use electric prods correctly and banning taking in cows not able to walk or stand.

Last September, Central Valley recalled 58,000 pounds of beef for the school lunch program after federal officials said the meat possibly contained pieces of plastic. There was no recall in Tuesday's announcement.

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