Looking for answers | Producer group wants to know what caused E. coli contamination
Beef producers want to know what went wrong at XL Foods following Canada’s largest ever meat recall.
The beef processing company at Brooks, Alta., was closed for a month this fall after the discovery of E. coli 0157:H contamination. International markets were lost, beef from 5,000 head of cattle was destroyed and questions grew over how things got out of hand.
Alberta Beef Producers passed a resolution at its recent annual meeting calling for an independent inquiry, and the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association is demanding answers to a long list of questions submitted to the federal government.
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“It is a big question everywhere — what happened?” rancher Bob Lowe of Nanton said at the ABP meeting held in Calgary Dec. 3-5.
“It is not a matter of laying blame,” he said. “We just want answers as to what happened.”
The CCA submitted its questions to an expert advisory committee within the federal government.
“We put together a list of 25 questions based on things like how did the recall end up getting expanded to muscle cuts … questions that we were hearing from producers,” said CCA vice-president Dave Solverson.
There are also questions about how communications were handled and technical matters.
Federal agriculture Gerry Ritz said in a Dec. 7 interview that the advisory committee set up to look into the matter is expected to take months, said.
He defended the work of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency and the extent of the recall.
“We take it to heart and don’t want to see those types of issues happen but we will never apologize for the size and the scope of the recall. If that is what is required, that is what we will do,” he said.
He is also confident the management style of new owners JBS-USA will introduce a new food safety culture and new federal legislation for food safety should improve future investigations.
In the meantime, XL Foods is processing up to 2,500 head per day. JBS has an option to buy the troubled company and its assets for $100 million but said it is still evaluating the deal.
Willie Van Solkema, a former president of sales and operations at XL Foods, was named president of JBS-Canada Dec. 5.
Sterling Fox, head of cattle procurement for XL, now holds that same job within the new framework.
“There are a lot of positive things with JBS coming to Canada,” Fox told the ABP meeting. “I believe they will drive a ton of value throughout the Canadian market.”
As a multinational company, JBS has a presence in 151 countries and produces a large portfolio of branded beef products. XL’s production should return to 4,000 head per day once it regains its license to export to the United States.
“If we had access to beef in the U.S., we could be back up to full production,” Fox said.
Bacterial contamination and food safety is an ongoing challenge for large processors.
Scott Entz of Cargill Meat Solutions of High River, Alta., said the plant uses practices, training and specific interventions to reduce contamination at every step of the process.
“Even at Cargill, I can’t stand up and tell you we are never ever going to have microbes,” he said.
“If the loads coming in are high enough, with all these steps we can’t guarantee ourselves we have eliminated all that microbe.”
He said the company conducts regular staff retraining, particularly in areas where the risk of contamination is higher.
It has also installed 120 video cameras throughout the plant to observe practices. Employees do not know when the cameras are photographing them. Entz said the cameras are used for training and correcting mistakes rather than for discipline.
The company installed a new skinning line in 2005, in which carcasses are washed to remove dirt and manure before the hide is removed.
One practice that is not in use is irradiation. It is approved in the United States, but Canada does not allow it. Cargill is working with the CCA for regulatory change.
However, its use is minimal in the U.S. because of public perception.
