A beef processing plant in Carman, Man., still doesn’t have its federal license, more than five months after it opened.
Calvin Vaags, the principal owner of True North Foods, said it’s taken longer than expected to complete the necessary paperwork for the federal license.
If things go according to plan, the plant should have its license by the spring.
“I think we’re there. But for me to say, ‘I guarantee it’s going to be a month,’ I just can’t do that,” said Vaags, who spoke this morning at the Manitoba Beef Producers annual meeting in Brandon.
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“My best guess is somewhere between four to eight weeks.”
True North Foods, formerly known as Plains Processors, has been operating under a provincial license since opening its new plant in August.
The new facility is capable of processing 1,000 head per week, but through the fall and winter it has only slaughtered 75 to 125 animals per week.
Vaags said increasing the volume hasn’t been an option because most clients, even customers within Manitoba, buy beef only from a federally inspected plant.
“The minute or the day we get our federal certification complete, then we can really start to push because we won’t be limited on the marketing side,” said.
“About 75 to 80 percent of the provincial market demands a federally certified product…. The day we get our stamp, we have a significant amount of business lined up in the Winnipeg area.”
Vaags said the Canadian Food Inspection Agency isn’t responsible for the delay. He didn’t appreciate the time and complexity of the paperwork associated with the licensing process.
“The paperwork in getting the HAACP (hazard analysis and critical control points) plans … and all of that kind of thing is not a small job,” he said. “I probably underestimated and probably (should have) pushed it a little harder four or five months ago when I thought it was mostly complete.”
Contact robert.arnason@producer.com
