Tainted beef. The violations that occurred under the noses of USDA inspectors raise serious concerns about whether the government is up to the job of protecting the public health. [News Source]

JCPS will dump more than 18 tons of recalled beef. Jefferson County Public Schools will dump 36,630 pounds of beef as part of a nationwide recall affecting dozens of Kentucky and Indiana school districts -- but officials say the health threat is negligible. [News Source]

Lawmakers fired up over beef recall. Federal lawmakers and watchdog groups had harsh words Monday for the U.S. Department of Agriculture after the agency ordered a recall of 143 million pounds of beef from a Southern California slaughterhouse. [News Source]

Beef recall raises worry on industry oversight. The announcement of the largest meat recall in U.S. history raises doubts about the Department of Agriculture's ability to adequately monitor the nation's meatpacking facilities. [News Source]

Today’s lunch special: recalled beef. Westland Meat Company is recalling 147 million pounds of beef -- the biggest beef recall in U.S. history -- much of which was to go to school lunch programs. [News Source]

Beef industry, animal rights groups duel. The cattle industry and animal rights groups bickered over the treatment of beef destined for U.S. dinner plates a day after secret video triggered the nation's largest meat recall. [News Source]

A gap in food safety. The quality of government inspections continues to vary sharply around the country, food safety experts say. [News Source]

USDA will step up inspections at slaughterhouses. The U.S. Department of Agriculture said Monday that it would step up oversight at 900 slaughterhouses in the USA to check for inhumane handling violations like those that led to the biggest meat recall ever on Sunday. [News Source]

Cattle industry mixed on USDA tracking plan. A controversial new USDA cattle tracking plan would utilize animal identification as a first line of defense against the uncontrolled spread of diseases like mad cow. [News Source]

An animal lover in the lion’s den. The Humane Society investigator who worked at a Chino meat packing plant said prodding of downer cattle was 'blatant' and 'commonplace.' And that may not be unique to the slaughterhouse he investigated. [News Source]