The company failed to provide enough clearance to keep large
beef carcasses from dragging on the floor.
The company’s plan was to trim any meat that touched the
floor, but the documents indicate compliance was “inconsistent”.
The documents also indicate the company did not have an
acceptable plan to control E. coli 0157:H7 bacteria.
It also indicates that sometimes the plant had not been
properly sanitized and CFIA inspectors would have to order the cleaning and
sanitation to be redone before daily operations could begin.
The company got clear warnings in October, 2012, again in
November and missed a deadline for compliance in December.
Yet the CFIA allowed the plant to continue operating until
February when it finally shut it down and refused to allow it to resume
operations until it was in compliance.
The company did regain its licence later.
The company had approval to export to the United States,
Vietnam, Hong Kong and Chile.
Related documents indicate Distributeurs des Volaille,
Beurre et Oeufs Akme of Saint-Eustache, west of Montreal, had its licence
suspended for failure to meet CFIA standards and warnings to pull up its socks.
Among other things, it held the right to hold meat imports
from the United States pending inspection for border clearance. The CFIA allows
some meat imports to move straight through border crossings to be held and
inspected at a facility inside Canada.
The company also held the right to export to the U.S., South
Africa and Chile.
