Xl foods

[TOM4CWB]

FYI:

IDNUMBER 201210130011
DOCID: 152582568
PUBLICATION: Calgary Herald
PAGE: A12
DATE: 2012.10.13
SECTION: The Editorial Page
EDITION: Final
BYLINE: Laurie Fadeeff
SOURCE: Calgary Herald
WORD COUNT: 91

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

More isn't better

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Re: "XL says Brooks plant fixed," Oct. 10.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency has 40 inspectors working at XL Foods. Some people in government say they need more inspectors in the plant. One of the contributing factors to the closure at XL was a sewage backup on the processing floor.

If 40 inspectors can't detect a sewage leak, why would 70 inspectors be able to? Something is dreadfully wrong in the Canadian food system when we have a single company with enough power to affect an entire industry.

Laurie Fadeeff, Stavely

[sumdumguy]

Man, anycompany that size and sewage back-
up! Unbelievable. This is not rocket science.

There are backflow restrictors available, not?

[burnt]

We don't know what caused the sewage backup, but it could have been something as simple a a plugged floor grate. When you see the kind of tagging that comes in on some cattle, it's really not hard to imagine such a scenario.

Caked manure on floor, water mixed in, one splash from a worker's boot and you have a mess like this on your hands.

They could trace that ecoli right back to the feedlot that it came from, like they did the bug that caused the Walkerton fiasco.

It would not be a surprise that we will see more of this kind of thing, and it can be traced back to the complications caused by industry consolidation.

There are natural laws that will inevitably assert themselves, regardless of the measures we take to counteract them.

[TOM4CWB]

Natural things like;

COOK YOUR FOOD!

[mcfarms]

I have heard unsubstantiated that it wasn't a floor sewage but a bathroom sewage issue as well, let your mind wander , a plant full of recent canadians etc etc .... not good if true

[perfecho]

If I had to eat my steak to the extent it needed......think I would eat chicken....and I raise beef!

[Hopperbin]

anytime you overcook anything the meal is
destroyed lets leave that to the countries
already having to do that and covering it up with
hot spice

[ASRG]

Go over to the beef forum and read Sheri Morck's article....it might give you a whole new perspective on who dropped the ball?...just the facts Ma'am.
We're paying the CFIA some pretty good money to make sure our food is safe...if they can't do the job get rid of them and bring in someone who can.
If the sewer was backed up the head vet should have shut down the line until it was fixed.....why didn't he?
The backed up drain and the condensation problem were ruled out as the source of the ecoli....by the CFIA! They have no clue where it came from to this day!
The scandal here was how the keystone cops CFIA handled the situation.
Good work boys....Chief Wigham!

[Burbert]

If good cookin was all that was required,
why worry about buying over priced beef at
all, and instead eat manure. The ultimate
in organic foods!!

[GreenValley]

ASRG, I have read Sheri article, she is
very good journal writer and very
knowledge of going happening XL crisis
problem. Very impressing of her writing.
Hope not Cargill may other problem. What
up with CFIA should have report sooner
than delay, shame on them. Perhaps bed
with FSIS to get XL killed I don't know
but I get feeling. NB is Canadian and
Cargill is not so I figure myself.

[sumdumguy]

You gotta woder where these 45 inspectors were.
Me thinks this occurence may not be one- off.

[blackpowder]

to me this is also the result of a 0 % tolerance policy
being touted as realistic and expected.

[Kodiak]

From the Herald------
CALGARY — An embattled Alberta meat packer will soon be managed and possibly bought by the world’s largest animal protein processor.

Effective immediately, XL Foods Inc. has reached a deal with Brazilian-controlled JBS to operate its feedlots and processing plants, including the 4,000 head-a-day facility in Brooks that was shuttered recently by federal food inspectors due to an E. coli scare.

“We know full well the commitment it takes to manage world-class operations that produce safe and nutritious products,” Bill Rupp, president of JBS’s U.S. division, said in a prepared release.

“We believe our experienced team will provide an invaluable asset in the management of XL Lakeside and we look forward to to exploring our options to purchase XL assets in the near future.”

Under the deal, JBS has the exclusive option to buy the Lakeside plant, feedlot and farming operations in Brooks, plus packing facilities in Calgary, Omaha, Nebraska and Nampa, Idaho, for $100 million. Half the payment would be in cash and half in JBS shares.

“Under no scenario will JBS assume any of XL Foods’ debt or liabilities,” the company release said.

Federal Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz said in an e-mailed statement that the move wouldn’t affect the timetable or requirements for reopening the plant.

“While this is a private business decision, Canadian consumers can be assured the Canadian Food Inspection Agency will enforce the same rigorous food safety standards at the Lakeside facility regardless of the management,” Ritz said.

Officials with Nilsson Bros Inc., XL’s parent company, could not be reached immediately for comment, but a company insider said the firm had been hit hard by the recent closure of its Brooks plant and the country’s largest ever beef recall.

With sales of more than $30 billion a year, JBS S.A. became the world’s largest company in the beef sector with its 2007 acquisition of the U.S.-based Swift and Company.

South of the border, the firm operates eight cattle processing plants, one processed meat facility, a tannery and a dozen feedlots.


Read more: http://www.calgaryherald.com/Industry giant takes over Food operations/7404767/story.html#ixzz29bw7dH8y