OTTAWA — The CFIA stepped up its vigilance in the case of an Alberta meat producer that’s reportedly been identified as the source of beef contaminated with E. coli O157:H7.
“Effective immediately, the CFIA has temporarily suspended the license to operate the Establishment 38 [XL Foods Inc.],” said Dr. Brian Evans, special advisor to the president, CFIA.
“The company has not adequately implemented agreed upon corrective actions and has not presented acceptable plans to address longer term plans.”
The plant’s closure comes on the heels of an in-depth review of the facility — owned by Nilsson Brothers Inc. Products at the plant are under the CFIA detention and control, and XL Foods Inc. will not open until the CFIA is fully confident in the plant’s capacity to effectively manage food-safety risks.
“Our priority is to make sure people know Alberta beef is a safe product and a high-quality product, and to ensure we get this plant open as soon as possible in compliance with CFIA regulations,” Alberta Premier Alison Redford was quoted as saying by CTV News.
Although XL Foods Inc. had monitoring measures in place, trend analysis of the data collected wasn’t being properly conducted. The CFIA says the plant needed to improve its trending and strengthen its response measures when a higher than normal number of positive test results are found.
Public health authorities confirmed four illnesses in Alberta associated with the consumption of the aforementioned beef.
For the list of affected products, visit the CFIA’s website at inspection.gc.ca.
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