Inspectors on leave over roles in lapses at California beef plant

The latest: At least two federal inspectors who worked at the now-shuttered Chino, Calif., plant at the center of the largest-ever beef recall have been put on paid leave, union officials said.

Stan Painter, president of the National Joint Council of Food Inspection Locals, said a U.S. Department of Agriculture labor-relations representative confirmed to him the administrative leaves of one inspector and one supervisor but would not discuss word of forced leave for another supervisor.

USDA officials said that they would have nothing to say about the case.

First fallout: Forced leaves would mark the first action taken by the department against the inspectors at the plant, Westland/Hallmark. At the time of the recall, USDA officials said employees there failed to follow regulations requiring them to notify federal authorities working at the plant when cattle collapse after the initial preslaughter inspection.

Question of fault: Paul Carney, western council president of the National Joint Council of Food Inspection Locals, called the decision to put a supervisor on paid leave appropriate.

"That's who the responsible parties are," he said.

But he disagreed with the decision to put an inspector on leave, saying "no inspectors ... were responsible for this."

Background: The possibility that such cows entered the food chain came to light in late January, when the Humane Society of the United States released a video shot by an undercover investigator showing Westland/Hallmark employees forcing weak dairy cattle to their feet using forklifts, electric prods and high-pressure water hoses.

More than two weeks later, the USDA recalled 143 million pounds of beef processed at the plant, about one-third of which had gone to schools.

Officials eventually recalled all beef produced by the plant in the past two years, saying some nonambulatory cattle -- banned from human food because of higher risks of disease -- might have been slaughtered.