Beef buyer list grows

More than three dozen Newport-Mesa businesses have been added to a state list of possible buyers of tainted beef from a Chino slaughterhouse that resulted in the biggest meat recall in U.S. history.

Among the added names on the list, which the state Department of Public Health has updated more than once this month, are Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian, the Automobile Club of Southern California and a number of restaurants. The first time the state published the list in February, many Newport-Mesa businesses protested their inclusion, and the latest version has drawn mixed reactions, as well.

Freddie Jacobs, the executive chef of the Automobile Club’s cafeteria, said his kitchen had never used any beef from the Chino plant. David Wong, the owner of Irvine Ranch Market in Costa Mesa, said he had run a check of his vendors after hearing he was on the list and found no evidence of having bought meat from Chino.

“We searched our database, and we never did any business with them,” he said.

Andrea Winter, a spokeswoman for Hoag, said her hospital’s kitchen may have received some of the Chino beef, but administrators had dealt with the problem swiftly by sending back all ground beef after news of the recall hit.

“We did receive notification ... that we could have possibly received it, so in this particular case, when we received the information, we sent the shipment back,” Winter said.

Ken August, a spokesman for the Department of Public Health, said the list was compiled from customer lists of meat vendors believed to have purchased from the Chino slaughterhouse in the last two years. Some of the phone numbers presented on the list are out of order, while other businesses appear to have closed.

August said the department is willing to take businesses off the list, but needs permission from local health departments rather than the retailers themselves.

“We need some verification that they do not belong on the list,” he said.

A number of other prominent Newport-Mesa names made the updated list, including the Hilton Orange County/Costa Mesa, Radisson Newport Beach, Fairmont Newport Beach and Island hotels and the Irvine Co.’s Resort at Pelican Hill, a luxury resort that opened its first phase last fall and plans to open in full later this year. Jennifer Hieger, the resort’s senior director of public relations, said the resort had done business with a supplier linked to the Chino slaughterhouse, but the connection ended there.

“The list is misleading,” she said. “We, like many others, appear on it simply because a supplier had a relationship with this company, and we are not aware of receiving any meat from them.”

Randy Zupanski, the general manager of the Fairmont, also said he didn’t believe any Chino beef had made it into his kitchen, but added that he understood the state’s reasoning.

“Certainly they want to be cautious,” he said. “They need to be cautious in these type of situations. So I don’t think they’re unfair in putting us there.”

BUSINESSES ADDED TO STATE LIST

Note: The Department of Public Health compiled this list by tracing meat vendor customers who have done business with the Westland/Hallmark Meat Co. in Chino during the last two years. Some of the businesses on the list may be defunct and some of their names may be reported inaccurately.

Automobile Club of Southern California / Costa Mesa

Avalon Newport / Newport Beach

Back Bay Cafe / Newport Beach

Balboa Yacht Club / Newport Beach

Bayside Restaurant / Newport Beach

Beach Pit BBQ / Costa Mesa

Casey’s Campus Cafe / Newport Beach

Classic Q / Newport Beach

Crown Cove Senior Care Community / Newport Beach

Durty Nelly’s / Costa Mesa

Fairmont Newport Beach / Newport Beach

First Step House of Orange County / Costa Mesa

Hilton Orange County/Costa Mesa / Costa Mesa

Hoag Hospital / Newport Beach

Irvine Ranch Market / Costa Mesa

Island Hotel / Newport Beach

Karl Strauss Brewing Co. / Costa Mesa

L & L Hawaiian Barbecue / Costa Mesa

Lido Gourmet Deli / Newport Beach

Lindbergh School / Costa Mesa

Malarky’s Irish Pub / Newport Beach

Marco Polo Italian Eatery / Newport Beach

Mastro’s Steakhouse / Costa Mesa

Newport Beach Country Club / Newport Beach

Newport-Mesa Unified School District / Costa Mesa

Newport Sushi Grill / Newport Beach

OCC / Costa Mesa

Peninsula Co. / Newport Beach

Picnics Deli / Costa Mesa

Pipeline / Newport Beach

Pizza Royale and Bake Shoppe / Newport Beach

Plums Catering and Cafe / Costa Mesa

Radisson Newport Beach / Newport Beach

Resort at Pelican Hill / Newport Beach

Rudy’s Pub and Grill / Newport Beach

Step By Step / Costa Mesa

Tacone / Newport Beach

Thai Tasty Corner / Costa Mesa

MICHAEL MILLER may be reached at (714) 966-4617 or at [email protected].