CALGARY – Human error was a factor in a twice-rejected truckload of meat at the Canada-U.S. border last week.
The load of mixed meat products was rejected by a United States department of agriculture inspector after undigested food was found in a 10-pound (4.5 kilogram) box of honeycomb tripe (processed stomach lining), selected from a load of 75 boxes.
USDA inspector Bill Lehman sent the entire load back to its origin at Cargill Foods in High River, Alta. A few days later the shipment returned to the Sweet Grass, Montana border crossing with the inspector’s seal still on the truck. The load was impounded.
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Cargill was suspended and was unable to ship meat to the U.S. from Nov. 1 until Nov. 7. The plant closed Nov. 4 and reopened Nov. 7.
“It was a single incident involving what is considered to be a more sensitive product,” said Cargill representative Barb Isman, who attributed the incident to human error.
When the truck returns to Cargill, the product will be destroyed, she said.
Tripe, considered a sensitive product, is subject to closer inspection than other meat shipments, she added.
A weekend meeting between Agriculture Canada and USDA officials in Washington, D.C. reviewed the company’s procedures in handling returned product and Canadian meat inspection practices, said Wayne Outhwaite of the food inspection branch in Calgary.
“We each had to review those procedures and identify the areas where the system failed in this particular instance, and incorporate some safeguards so it won’t happen again,” said Outhwaite.
Following this review, no shipment rejected once will return until there is firm evidence the product has been removed from a truck, said Isman.
Cargill has asked the USDA to place its own inspectors in the High River plant to work with the 20 Agriculture Canada inspectors there now. Such a gesture would help meat move more easily across the borders, said Isman.
American inspectors have the right to enter a Canadian plant at any time, said David Andrews, head of the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association foreign trade committee.
“There’s a lot of confidence in USDA and Canadian meat inspection from both sides of the border,” said Andrews.
The cattlemen’s association and Cargill don’t anticipate increased inspections at the border because of the incident.
The USDA has issued new requirements for pathogen testing. Most Alberta plants, including Cargill Foods, are already doing those tests to meet the requirements, Andrews said.
