Article

Meat for Public Schools Often Rejected by Fast Food Chains
Posted:
12/9/09


An investigation finds the federal government provides schools with meat that many fast food restaurants would reject.

McDonald's, Burger King, Jack in the Box and other chains are more rigorous than the Department of Agriculture when it comes to checking beef and chicken for bacteria and dangerous pathogens, USA Today reported. The paper studied records from the past three years and found fast food restaurants test ground beef up to 10 times more often than the USDA tests meat for the National School Lunch Program.

The USDA has supplied schools with old chicken, called "spent hens," that might otherwise go to compost or pet food, according to the paper. It's chicken that KFC won't buy and Campbell rejects for its canned soups.

Meat bought by the USDA is donated to almost every school district in the country and served to 31 million students a day.
Get the new
PD toolbar!