USDA Closes Central Valley Meat Co. Over Cleanliness Failures

California’s Central Valley Meat Co. has been indefinitely closed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture for failing to meet cleanliness standards.  “FSIS withdrew our inspectors and suspended operations due to insanitary conditions at the establishment,” the agency said in an emailed statement to Food Safety News. “The plant’s suspension will be lifted once we receive adequate assurances of corrective action.”  The USDA previously shut down Central Valley in 2012 for inhumane handling of animals after an undercover video showed alleged violations of humane slaughter laws taking place there. Central Valley employees were caught on camera torturing cattle with prods and subjecting them to other inhumane treatment.  No recall has been initiated in the latest closure, suggesting that federal authorities are not treating this as a food safety issue.  Central Valley, located 30 miles from Fresno, supplies beef to the National School Lunch Program. In 2012, Food Safety News reported that Central Valley beef had accounted for roughly 16 percent of beef purchases made by USDA during the 2010-2011 school year.