BELLE FOURCHE - Schools here received more than 500 pounds of ground beef from the Hallmark/Westland Meat Company in California that have been pulled from distribution by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Superintendent Bill O'Dea said none of the meat received last November and December had been used in the school lunch kitchen.

Food Service Manager Rhonda Johnson said the 14 40-pound boxes of frozen ground beef had not been used because of the kitchen's policy of "first in-first out."

The school, as others in South Dakota, received the meat as USDA federal commodities. Rapid City schools also had some of the recalled beef in their freezers.

Late last week, the state Department of Education gave districts instructions on how to dispose of the recalled meat, according to a news release. District with less than one 40-pound box can destroy the beef on site, and districts with more than one box can arrange to have their meat picked up through the state's Child and Adult Nutrition Services department.

Until the recall, Johnson said, the school kitchen had been using burger shipped earlier; since the recall they have used ground beef not from Westland.

"I know for absolute positive that we did not use any from those two shipments that they are worried about," she added.

Commodity burger used in the Belle Fourche school kitchen is used for taco meat, lasagna and similar purposes where it is cooked first, then used "loose" in foods.

It's not used in patties, Johnson said. That comes in frozen, pre-formed patties.

She added that the school kitchen is very careful in cooking temperatures of foods and keeping preparation areas free of potential contamination. The kitchen has won state awards for its overall operation.

"Assure people that the food service food is healthy; there is nothing to worry about, and don't be concerned about letting your children eat here," she said.

The temperatures used for ground beef meet federal regulations that would cover e. coli or salmonella bacteria, she said.

Johnson said it appeared to her that the major concern with the recalled beef had more to do with inhumane treatment of cows at the company's slaughterhouse than overt concerns with safety.

She and state officials both referred people to the USDA web site.

The web site noted that the cattle involved had been checked by a veterinarian. The question apparently came when some cattle did not get up when it came time to move them into the slaughter operation and a veterinarian was not called for a contractually-required second check of those animals.

The USDA also noted that each lot of the ground beef had been checked for E. coli and salmonella before shipping.

In spite of 143 million pounds of meat recalled from the plant, the state Department of Education noted in a news release that "no illnesses have been linked to the recalled meat and officials said the health threat was likely small."

Apparently about 121 of 220 school food authorities in South Dakota reported that they had some of the recalled beef on hand.

According to the state news release, South Dakota has received USDA donated beef from Westland Meat Company for two years. It is likely that almost every school food authority has received USDA donated beef from Westland Meat Company over that time.

For more information about this recall, visit the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Web site at www.usda.gov.