( CNN ) -- The U.S. Department of Agriculture is investigating `` disturbing evidence of inhumane treatment of cattle '' at a California meat supplier , the agency said . After receiving video from an animal welfare group , the USDA sent investigators to the Central Valley Meat Co. and found violations of humane handling , the agency said in a statement . Jane Velez-Mitchell : Slaughterhouse video shows USDA needs to clean up its act . `` We have reviewed the video and determined that while some of the footage provided shows unacceptable treatment of cattle , it does not show anything that would compromise food safety , '' said Al Almanza , administrator of the USDA 's Food Safety and Inspection Service . The USDA suspended inspections at the Hanford-based company , effectively halting slaughter operations there . The agency said Wednesday it bought 21 million pounds of beef for federal food programs in fiscal year 2011 , nearly one-sixth of its beef purchases . Would you eat a burger grown in a lab ? Company officials have not seen the video , Brian Coelho , president of the Central Valley Meat Co. , said Tuesday . He said he was `` extremely disturbed '' to learn that inspections were suspended . `` Our company seeks to not just meet federal humane handling regulations , but to exceed them , '' Coelho said in a statement . He said federal inspectors continuously inspect the plant and are able to take action if they see a problem . `` That is why these allegations are both disturbing and surprising , '' he said . Central Valley did not respond to a request for comment Tuesday after CNN sent the company a link to the video . The company did not respond to messages left Wednesday . Compassion Over Killing , a nonprofit organization that focuses on animal cruelty , posted the video to YouTube and to its website on Tuesday . The group said an undercover investigator shot the video . In the graphic video , one worker stands on the nostrils of a cow that the narrator says has been shot in the head but did n't die right away . In another segment , a worker appears to shoot a cow in the head several times . `` At U.S. slaughterhouses , federal law requires death to be quick , when cows are shot in the head the process should cause immediate unconsciousness , '' the narrator says . `` At Central Valley , countless deaths we documented were slow and agonizing . '' US buying $ 170 million in meat from farmers hit by high feed prices . Central Valley Meat , a 50-year-old company , was one of the beef suppliers for In-N-Out Burger , a well-known fast food chain predominantly in California and the Southwest . Mark Taylor , chief operating officer for In-N-Out , said the chain has stopped doing business with Central Valley Meat . `` In-N-Out Burger would never condone the inhumane treatment of animals , and all of our suppliers must agree to abide by our strict standards for the humane treatment of cattle , '' he said in a statement . The plant has been closed while the USDA conducts its investigation . Central Valley said it will cooperate . Livestock industry wins Supreme Court appeal . CNN 's Jaqueline Hurtado , Tina Burnside and Darrell Calhoun contributed to this report .
Undercover video appears to show people killing cattle . Central Valley Meat Co. says it tries to avoid federal regulations . The USDA cites violations of humane standards but no violations of food safety . An advocacy group says many cows suffered slow and agonizing deaths .