Offending BISD Barbacoa Processed in Gomez Palacio, Durango

Valco Foods LLC Food Photography

This past October Brownsville Herald reporter Gary Long wrote an article praising BISD's cafeteria food, especially the newly introduced Mexican food items from Valco Foods, Inc.  Here is an excerpt from Gary's story:

"On Thursday, the reaction to the Mexican food items BISD will be serving was much the same. The vendor, Valco Foods, a Mexican company whose U.S. operations are based in McAllen , served up samples almost as quickly as it could prepare them.

“It tastes really fresh. I don’t get that processed taste at all,” said Bryana Cantu, a senior at Mission Veterans Memorial. “The al pastor tastes like you’re eating at a restaurant. It’s better. I can’t find something I don’t like.”

Company representative Jose Manuel Alegre said Valco’s products all have USDA and international certifications, and meet USDA’s nutritional guidelines for schools.

Fast forward to this past November and it's been reported in El Rrun Rrun blog and Erasmo Castro's Brownsville Cheezmeh Facebook page of some problems with the meat purchased from Valco.  A statement on the BISD website claims none of this meat was ever served to students:

"The Brownsville ISD Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) meets all United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) procurement guidelines in the purchase of food products for student and employee consumption. Early November 2015, a batch of meat product that was not up to district standards was immediately recalled from all BISD cafeterias when several district and campus FNS employees noticed that the product was defective and proactively reported their concerns. It is important to note that none of this meat product was served at any BISD campuses. The product was returned to the vendor for full credit and BISD has discontinued the purchase of meat products that are processed in Mexico.

This meat product was raised and purchased in the United States from a USDA approved vendor but was processed in Mexico according to USDA guidelines and under the supervision of a USDA inspector. It is allowable for any school food service department to purchase food processed outside the United States under certain USDA exceptions.

Brownsville ISD has and will continue to follow all USDA procurement guidelines to ensure that quality products are served to BISD students. The BISD Food and Nutrition Service provides over 96,000 nutritious breakfasts, lunches, and suppers each weekday to district students.The Brownsville ISD Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) meets all United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) procurement guidelines in the purchase of food products for student and employee consumption. Early November 2015, a batch of meat product that was not up to district standards was immediately recalled from all BISD cafeterias when several district and campus FNS employees noticed that the product was defective and proactively reported their concerns. It is important to note that none of this meat product was served at any BISD campuses. The product was returned to the vendor for full credit and BISD has discontinued the purchase of meat products that are processed in Mexico.

Reading the fine print on the Valco Foods LLC website, it appears the product in question originated from a processor operating in an industrial park in Gomez Palacio, Durango.

Actually, the meat purchased, barbacoa de res, was sold at a reduced price according to a memo sent out by Region One Purchasing Coordinator Lon Atwood Ramos, stating:  "Effective immediately this price change for Barbacoa Beef, Item #2054.  Previous case price, $166.02.  New case price, $160.62.

The published nutritional facts indicated that a 2 ounce portion of the barbacoa contained 93 calories with 42 of those calories being from fat.