After a year of major recalls of contaminated foods--peanut butter, ground beef, canned chili, and even pet food--February brought the Godzilla of all recalls.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture negotiated a recall by Westland/Hall mark Meat Co. of 143 million pounds of beef (mostly from aging

The recall was triggered by videotape footage shot by an investigator from the Humane Society of the United States (www.hsus.org) who was working in a slaughterhouse outside Los Angeles. Millions of Americans were horrified to see workers shocking dying cows with electric prods and carrying others with forklifts.

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What started as an expose of execrable treatment of cattle immediately raised questions about food safety ... and about the quality of the USDA's inspection system.

Only healthy animals are supposed to make it into the food supply, partly because "downer" cattle (those unable to stand) might be suffering from mad cow disease or other serious conditions.

Fortunately, no human illnesses have been tied to Westland/Hallmark's slaughter of crippled or sick animals. But the American public has clearly lost faith in the USDA as its protector of food safety and animal welfare.

The USDA claims that the episode was "an isolated incident of egregious violations to humane handling requirements." That's the usual damage control blather that follows embarrassing disclosures. In fact, according to the nonprofit Animal Welfare Institute, USDA records reveal problems at many other slaughterhouses.

And if Westland/Hallmark, a company that provided schools with millions of pounds of meat annually, ran a shoddy operation, what about the hundreds of other slaughterhouses? Are they also being operated by workers disdainful of the public's health? Are they also being monitored by government inspectors who don't care about either the safety of consumers or the welfare of animals?

Westland/Hallmark has been shuttered and won't reopen. One of the videotaped workers has pleaded guilty and is serving a six-month jail sentence. Another is fighting felony charges. The USDA has put two inspectors who worked at Westland/Hallmark on paid administrative leave, but the department should fire everyone--including supervisors--associated with the scandal.

More broadly, this episode should be the wake-up call that triggers reform of our food-safety system before a new incident harms hundreds-or thousands--of consumers.

At the USDA, food safety is clearly far down on the list of priorities. And at the Food and Drug Administration, food safety takes a backseat to the task of approving exciting new drugs and medical devices.

That's why we need a well-funded and independent Food Safety Administration whose entire mission is devoted to ensuring the safety, healthfulness, and honest labeling of our food supply.

Michael F. Jacobson, Ph.D.

Executive Director

Center for Science in the Public Interest