From Rabble.ca:

Goober

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Jan 23, 2009
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First of all the information comes from a left of center source but it is a credible source.
The guy who wrote it has a history with the Globe and the Calgary Herald and the Calgary
paper is a right wing paper.
Aside from that, XL Foods is a disaster and has been from the beginning. They employed
foreign workers who rarely complains because weak labour laws would be insufficient to
protect them. The Government has looked the other way on this one for years.
The CFIA can't hide behind them they were invisible in the first place. This is the most
useless organization there is. You cannot escape the fact that there were 46 inspectors
at the plant, and they didn't see or hear or catch anything. Now even if I don't agree with
the present government on too many things, I can't see first hand how they could have
directly responsible for this specific incident. The Agency, yest. Even indirectly yes but
directly NO.
Governments in general have been reciting a mantra of cut red tape to be more competitive.
The real answer is not to make free trade deals with countries that won't meet our standards
in a modern civilized society. We need regulations, the last down turn in 2008 proved that.
unfettered capitalism is every bit as bad as unfettered socialism. Lax government regulations
and an Agency that can't do the job contributed to a disaster, but the company is to blame
they were interested solely in profit and to hell with their customers and the consumer.
Their attitude, greed, and deceptive practices were to blame.

They write the reports- find the reports if the Govt will make them public and you will see how it was documented.
Inspectors and CFIA have little power to enforce outside of a closure.
They should have the authority based upon evidence to sequester production- then it can be checked. With JIT and contracts to supply companies - tying up end product of a production line costs the company money.
That and larger fines including Jail time.

Now the NP is not left of center - I find they are quite impartial and go after the Govt whoever they are.

More problems found at Alberta meat plant at centre of massive E. coli recall | Canada | News | National Post

BROOKS, Alta. — Trouble continues for an Alberta meat plant as it tries to resume normal processing under the watchful eye of federal food safety inspectors.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency says on its website that its staff observed a number of problems last week at XL Foods.

They included meat areas that weren’t adequately cleaned and water sanitizer that wasn’t maintained at a high enough temperature.

It says inspectors also noted there was condensation on pipes as well as no sanitizing chemical in mats used for cleaning employees’ boots.

The CFIA says it ordered the plant’s managers to take corrective action, which included sending potentially-contaminated meat for rendering.

The plant in Brooks was closed Sept. 27 due to E. coli contaminated meat that led to a massive recall.

Workers began slaughtering cattle Oct. 29 at the plant but there has been no word yet on when the beef can be sold to retailers or consumers.

“Over the course of the first week of operations, the CFIA determined that the establishment’s overall food safety controls were being effectively managed,” the agency says on its website.

“As would be expected in a facility that has not been in regular operation for some time, there have been some observations made by CFIA that resulted in the CFIA issuing new Corrective Action Requests to XL Foods Inc.. since the plant reopened.”

The agency says it also requested the company submit corrective action plans outlining how they will address the issues in the longer term and mitigate future risks.

The CFIA says it is still waiting on lab results from tests that it and the company did on product from the plant before allowing XL Foods to sell trim and ground beef from the plant.

The total number of illnesses linked to the outbreak stands at 17.

Management of the plant has been taken over by JBS USA, an American subsidiary of a Brazilian company.

The US Food Safety and Inspection Service visited the plant on November 2, 2012 and conducted its own audit. The CFIA says those audit findings will be released by the US at a later date.
 

Mowich

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Dec 25, 2005
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Back in the late '80's I was in that industry, in Red Deer, at Canada Packers.
We had about 125 people on the line and processed up to about 600 head a
day. We where one of many small (large in it's day through) processors in
the province.

Gov't inspectors would roll through (sometimes a team of two, sometimes a
team of four) at least once a week, & sometimes a couple times each week.

Then this super processing facility being discussed came along (it was Cargill
at the time...what's now XL) with the ability to process 5000-7000 head/day &
paying the employee's about 1/2 or less than everyone else was. Most of the
existing facilities disappeared in short order.

Compare the numbers. To have similar Gov't inspectors (# of inspectors to # of
cattle processed per day), they'd have to have several bus loads of inspectors
show up at least weekly (& sometimes a couple of times per week) unannounced
to roll through there...in what was a small Alberta city twenty-some years back.
The logistics just don't work. Here we are today. Go figure.

Were you ever closed down due to health concerns Ron?
 

Goober

Hall of Fame Member
Jan 23, 2009
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Were you ever closed down due to health concerns Ron?

Mass production lowers costs- Chicago - Meat plants in the mid 1800's - Paid 5 1/2 cents a pound - meat processed received 5 1/2 cents a lb after processing. Money(profit) was made on byproducts. Oh yes they also invented the refrigerated rail car.

Consumers want cheap food.
 

Ron in Regina

"Voice of the West" Party
Apr 9, 2008
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Were you ever closed down due to health concerns Ron?


Not for long, if ever. Things where pretty tightly run, and the inspectors
where there so often (as a minimum, at least weekly and often two or even
three times a week) that small things where caught when they where still
small things before they would have gotten out of hand.

 

Goober

Hall of Fame Member
Jan 23, 2009
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Not for long, if ever. Things where pretty tightly run, and the inspectors
where there so often (as a minimum, at least weekly and often two or even
three times a week) that small things where caught when they where still
small things before they would have gotten out of hand.


My Father worked for Capital Packers in Charlottetown. Hard dirty work. I remember when they went out on strike in the 60's- long dirty strike.
 

earth_as_one

Time Out
Jan 5, 2006
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I doubt any meat processing plant is 100% e. coli free or could be 100% e.coli free. .A little e. coli is probably normal and even healthy:
Escherichia coli - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Level of exposure and virulence of individual strain probably determine severity of negative health consequences.

So as long as the meat and everything coming in contact with meat regularly cleaned and/or replaced/disposed the meat is probably fine.

Truly bacteria free food is possible:
Food Irradiation - Food - Canadian Food Inspection Agency
 

Goober

Hall of Fame Member
Jan 23, 2009
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I doubt any meat processing plant is 100% e. coli free or could be 100% e.coli free. .A little e. coli is probably normal and even healthy:
Escherichia coli - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Level of exposure and virulence of individual strain probably determine severity of negative health consequences.

So as long as the meat and everything coming in contact with meat regularly cleaned and/or replaced/disposed the meat is probably fine.

Truly bacteria free food is possible:
Food Irradiation - Food - Canadian Food Inspection Agency
look up contamination due to failure to follow regs -protocols- Why even radiation can lower your chances of cancer in some instances. Want some.
 

damngrumpy

Executive Branch Member
Mar 16, 2005
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The problem is the CFIA has little power where it counts but they didn't look beyond the
paper work, in addition governments have to ensure that rules are followed and the agency
has to have the power instituted by government. Therefore it is time to crack down on the
companies not meeting regulations period.
 

Goober

Hall of Fame Member
Jan 23, 2009
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The problem is the CFIA has little power where it counts but they didn't look beyond the
paper work, in addition governments have to ensure that rules are followed and the agency
has to have the power instituted by government. Therefore it is time to crack down on the
companies not meeting regulations period.
I meet a number of CFIA employees on a regular basis- the bureaucrats tie their hands.
Wew do not hold the Govt to account. If we did things would be different.
 

Tonington

Hall of Fame Member
Oct 27, 2006
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So as long as the meat and everything coming in contact with meat regularly cleaned and/or replaced/disposed the meat is probably fine.

Yes, well that's the problem. The company is not following the procedures and practices that minimize the risk of food borne illness. E. coli is an indicator organism. Where you find E. coli in meat, it means that meat has been contaminated with fecal matter. The temperature of the sanitizer water, that matters. Having no sanitizing agents so that workers can't cross-contaminate rooms inside the plant, that's sloppy and easy to fix.

We get our yearly CFIA audit this week. Should be fairly routine, because every one of us at work know how important it is to be conscious about moving pathogenic micro-organisms around. Sounds like this XL Foods plant needs to drastically improve their quality unit, and provide more training for employees if they are so slack that they can't keep up with the foot scrub.
 

CDNBear

Custom Troll
Sep 24, 2006
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Ontario
I'll be having lamb for dinner tonight.

Like the pork and beef in my freezer as well, all slaughtered and butchered at the farm they were raised on.

Not only is it clean, I know how it was treated while on the hoof and while being processed. Hell, we even helped in the processing.

I really like small operations. Cheaper meat, healthier animals, healthier customers.
 

damngrumpy

Executive Branch Member
Mar 16, 2005
9,949
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kelowna bc
So if the CFIA has their hands tied and they are a government agency they the government
is responsible for the disaster, we are back at the beginning of the discussion.
 

CDNBear

Custom Troll
Sep 24, 2006
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Ontario
I'll wager that the farmer/rancher was highly appreciative to have local customers as well
Yep. All their customers are from the area.

They just so happen to be close friends as well, so I'm at their disposal when they need help with anything.