Ryding-Regency is done.
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency has cancelled its licence because it provided “false or misleading information” test results, hiding the presence of E. coli 0157:H7 food-poisoning bacteria.
That deals a heavy blow to Ontario beef farmers who have been hoping the plant would be allowed to re-open as soon as possible because cattle are backing up on farms, waiting for space for slaughter.
It was the third-largest beef-packing plant in the province and the only major source of kosher beef. It also marketed halal beef.
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency said Monday it made the decision to cancel the licenses for Ryding-Regency Meat Packers, Canadian Select Meats and The Beef Boutique — the latter two operating under the St. Ann’s Foods banner — all of which were already suspended in September as part of an E. coli food safety investigation.
The companies’ licenses were suspended in mid-September because they “failed to implement effective control measures,” the CFIA said.
What followed was a daily posting of packing plants whose beef and veal products were recalled because they sourced meat from Ryding-Regency. That dragged on past mid-November.
The CFIA now said it “received false or misleading information from the licence holders concerning E. coli lab results.”
Effective immediately, CFIA said, the companies in question “are no longer able to slaughter food animals or prepare meat products for export or to be sent from one province or territory to another.”
The wording of that announcement hints that the plant might be eligible for provincial licencing and inspection, allowing it to resume operations but limiting sales to within Ontario.
