From the Washington Post:

A global beef processor has installed a $4.2 million cow-cleaning system at its Central Valley plant in an effort to improve food safety.

The new apparatus at the 60-acre Cargill factory in Fresno uses spinning bristles and high-pressure nozzles filled with anti-microbial solution to remove dirt and debris from cow carcasses before the hides are removed, The Fresno Bee reported. Most beef processors wash the animal's carcass only after the hide is gone.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture had expressed concern about the facility's animal-handling practices the previous year, after department inspectors observed workers using electric prods to stun the cows or knock them unconscious on their way to slaughter.

Calif. plant adds pricey cow washer to fight germs