AIRDRIE — Alberta premier Alison Redford wants the public to know Canadian beef is safe to eat and all efforts are being made to reopen XL Foods after a series of national recalls forced the Brooks based plant to close earlier this week.
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency shuttered the plant earlier this week and is working with company officials to clear the plant of E. coli contamination and make sure all food safety protocols are being followed. No one is sure when the plant will reopen, said agriculture minister Verlyn Olson at a news conference Sept. 30.
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“We are pressing everybody involved to make it the top priority so XL can comply with regulations so we can get the plant back working and get all those employees back to work and give producers a place to deliver their product.” About 2,200 people have been shut out since Sept. 26.
Premier Redford met with producers in Calgary and at a ranch north of the city to discuss the impact.
“We have in this province excellent beef and we stand behind our producers and we stand behind the product that they produce. We certainly have a circumstance right now with respect to one company that is having some challenges with respect to regulation.”
“There is Alberta beef that is being produced right across this province that is safe to eat. Let’s remember to cook it well and ensure as we move ahead we get this plant reopened so we can keep the economy moving and we can have confidence in this terribly important product that we have,” she said.
David Chalack, head of the Alberta Livestock and Meat Agency said this plant kills about a third of Canada’s cattle and it leaves producers vulnerable, especially with those that need to go to market soon. He said good science is being used to get the plant open and find out what happened so consumer confidence is not lost.
“We are very concerned about how consumers think about it.”
“The fact that there is a product and a product recall at a plant that is being reviewed in its procedures is healthy for consumers to know we have those safeguards in place,” he said.
“These plants are under a great deal of rigour and scrutiny…. I am hopeful we will get it running this week but only time will tell,” he said.
About 300 meat products sold in Canada have been recalled by the CFIA and a wide spread recall has spread to 30 American states.
Canfax reported this week’s weighted average steer price was $2 per hundredweight lower than the week before. Many feedlots did not sell in hopes prices would improve. Multiple packers from the United States showed more interest in Canadian cattle but no significant cash sales were reported.
