Colorado-based JBS USA will fire up its JBS Food Canada Inc. subsidiary Monday by closing the purchase of several XL Foods operations located north of the 48th parallel, including the troubled Lakeside beef processing plant in Brooks, Alberta. In the purchase, JBS Food Canada will acquire the 4,000-head-per-day beef packing plant at Brooks, XL’s 1,000-head-per-day… Continue Reading
The safety of the food supply is a leading concern for Canadians, according to a survey conducted more than a month after XL Foods recalled 1.5 million pounds of beef products sold in the country for potential E. coli contamination. The XL beef was eventually linked to 18 E. coli O157:H7 illnesses that occurred between… Continue Reading
About 40 agricultural and consumer groups have asked the U.S. Justice Department for an expanded, in-depth antitrust review of the possible takeover of XL Four Star Beef Holdings in the United States by Greeley, CO-based JBS, USA. The request came in a Dec. 21 letter to Attorney General Eric Holder and Renata B. Hesse, the… Continue Reading
Canada’s CTV News went public with a four-year-old memorandum from the troubled XL Foods beef plant that told meat inspectors to turn a blind eye to fecal and intestinal contamination on carcasses—except for the beef headed for Japan. The memo issued to inspectors by a meat hygiene supervisor at the Brooks, Alberta beef plant said… Continue Reading
Another E. coli case linked to beef from XL Foods’ Brooks, Alberta processing facility has raised the number of victims in the ongoing outbreak to 18. This newest victim, an Alberta resident, became ill around Oct. 15 from eating beef kept in a home freezer, according to the provincial health agency, which is continuing the… Continue Reading
Set aside its less-than-stellar first week on the job, set aside the howling by some ranchers about the usual antitrust complaints, and set aside that nothing is yet final, and you still have smart money betting that this new makeup of the North American beef industry is going to be around for a long, long… Continue Reading
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) Tuesday lifted the Sept. 27 license suspension that closed the XL Foods beef processing plant at Brooks, Alberta. The re-licensing is effective immediately, allowing the plant to ramp up slaughter and processing operations with more CFIA surveillance and increased testing protocols. Canada’s largest beef recall and an outbreak of… Continue Reading
Canadian public health officials announced this week that 16 E. coli cases from 4 provinces have been traced to the consumption of beef produced by XL Foods. A Quebec resident who became ill with An E. coli infection is the latest to be counted. According to the Public Health Agency of Canada, E. coli cases… Continue Reading
The biggest beef recall in Canada’s history was eclipsed within a few hours this week by a new management agreement shifting control and potentially the ownership of the troubled Brooks, Alberta plant to the world’s biggest beef company, JBS of Brazil. Brooks’ Mayor Martin Shields immediately said it was positive news that means the processing… Continue Reading
The number of E. coli O157:H7 infections linked to beef from XL Foods in Canada has risen from 12 to 15, according to a notice issued by Canadian health officials Friday. The 15 cases have occurred in Alberta (7), Newfoundland and Labrador (1), Quebec (4) and British Columbia (3). One of the BC victims was… Continue Reading
Despite new warnings by the XL Foods workers’ union that the company’s food safety culture is “broken,” the processor – which has been closed for several days after sparking a massive beef recall and being linked to a dozen E. coli O157:H7 illnesses – was allowed to partially resume operations Thursday. The Canadian Food Inspection… Continue Reading