Where's the beef? Retailer names wanted

One upshot of the disturbing video of downer cattle being stuck with electric prods and raised on forklifts is the renewed demand from consumer groups that the FDA release the names of retailers who sold the beef now being recalled. That demand will also be in play in the event of another recall linked to fresh produce items. Here is a link to a story that brings up the issue:

From the Newsday story:

A major question posed yesterday is where's the beef? USDA is not required to list the names of retail outlets when tainted products are recalled."We don't know if any retailers in the New York area were shipped this product and we think that USDA should disclose it and they should disclose it right now," said Jean Halloran, director of food policy initiatives at Consumers Union in Yonkers, publishers of Consumer Reports.Consumers Union, along with other advocacy organizations, pressed for change in USDA guidelines two years ago, asking that retailers be identified to help protect public health. Although the disclosure rule was approved, it has not been finalized, Halloran said.


TK: Here is more coverage of the issue from "The Daily Green." As much as the retail community may not like it, full disclosure of where recalled product was sold seems reasonable. Writes one reader to The Daily Green:

How can the USDA call this a recall when consumers don't know if they even bought the product? How can they can the USDA call this a recall when they won't disclose what stores and restaurants sold/served this meat?How can they recall meat this was consumed 4-24 months ago? How is this is not a big joke? It's starting to even fail the "Symbolic Recall" test!(Think about any other "Recall" - you get exact product#s and often where they were sold. This doesn't have it, making it "Not a Recall".