Beef languishes in grocery store coolers this week as consumers, wary of meat recalls in the wake of E. coli detection in Canadian beef, choose other meat for their tables.
The temporary licence suspension of XL Foods Inc. in Brooks, Alta., one of the largest federally inspected cattle processing plants in Canada, has widespread repercussions for the cattle production chain.
Prompt corrective action and reopening of the plant would be the best-case scenario at time of this writing.
That, and an explanation from XL.
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As of last week, at least nine people were sick with E. coli, although links to beef from the XL plant had not been established.
Prices for fed cattle dropped upon news of the plant closure, and finished cattle had to be shipped elsewhere or kept longer on feed, creating additional expense for feedlots.
In Brooks, 2,200 workers were in limbo while XL plant operators worked to implement Canadian Food Inspection Agency directives.
The CFIA continued to issue recall notices for an expanding list of XL-sourced meat that reached grocery stores across Canada and the United States.
The U.S. closed its borders to meat from the plant, prompting accusations from American protectionist groups that Canadian food inspection is lax.
Federal and provincial politicians focused attention on the matter, in Parliament and in news conferences and meetings. And consumers avoided grocery store beef.
Through it all, the key voice was silent. XL Foods officials did not comment publicly on the situation and issued a terse news release Oct. 1. Lack of explanation made a bad situation worse.
Consumers and the entire cattle industry need reassurance that the plant is taking steps to remedy the E. coli problem, that it has reliable safeguards in place and that beef is safe to eat.
Plant officials also owe the public an explanation for how and why the E. coli contamination occurred.
Brian and Lee Nilsson, owners of XL, have always been reticent with media, even before purchase of the meat processing plant put them into the national and international beef business. XL is a private company, and its public relations strategy, or lack thereof, is for the owners to determine.
In fairness, the plant did issue voluntary recalls before the CFIA got involved, yet inexplicably failed to comment as the recall list lengthened and CFIA revoked its licence.
XL’s silence is perplexing, given the widespread fallout, the attendant health issues and possibility of long-term damage to beef consumption and hence the cattle industry.
It has arguably done more damage to the business than would have been the case had it issued a public statement and indicated a plan to remedy the problem.
The obvious parallel is the 2008 listeria outbreak at a Toronto area Maple Leaf Foods plant. It, too, was a food safety scare accompanied by widespread recalls and loss of consumer confidence in food safety.
Maple Leaf officials were front and centre in explaining the cause of the outbreak and their actions to correct it. That event was much more severe than the XL situation appears to be. It caused 20 deaths and sickened hundreds. Yet Maple Leaf was able to recover, in part because of the openness and compassion it showed during the crisis and afterward.
That same effort to keep the public informed mitigated some of the damage when BSE was first discovered in Canada. Because of it, consumers retained their confidence in domestic product.
In the time lag between this writing and its publication, XL officials may make a more substantial public statement. If they do, it will be welcomed. If they don’t, it may be a long time before consumers trust their beef again.
