Records released this week reveal that Burnbrae Farms Ltd.
had trouble meeting grading and sanitation standards at its egg-grading and
egg-processing facilities in Ontario in 2009 and 2010.
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency issued 11 detention
orders, pulling eggs off the supply chain because they failed to meet the
grading standard Burnbrae claimed.
It also detailed persistent failures to meet facility
standards at its facilities in Mississauga where it runs Bonee Best Eggs as a
division of Maple Lynn Foods.
Inspection report after report cites the same issues, such
as ceilings that are not smooth, dirty and pitted floors, standing water around
drains and a room to store chemicals left unlocked.
Two of the detention orders involved eggs from L.H. Gray and
Son Ltd. to the Burnbrae-owned egg-processing plant.
All of the reports have been heavily censored, blocking out
the details of how eggs failed to meet the grading standards claimed and how
many eggs were covered by each detention order.
If the failures were cracked and dirty eggs, as seems likely
given isolated pieces of uncensored information on some of the reports, there
would be significant food-safety issues.
The dirt, which most likely was manure, could contaminate
wash water which could, in turn, get inside eggs via cracks. That would make
raw eggs a significant risk for consumers.
One of the reports is for substandard eggs Burnbrae shipped
to Best Choice Eggs at Blackstock.
Earlier releases of government reports indicate L.H. Gray
and Son Ltd. also shipped substandard eggs to Best Choice.
Best Choice has filed a lawsuit against Burnbrae, L.H. Gray
and Son Ltd. and the Egg Farmers of Ontario marketing board, claiming they
conspired to drive Best Choice out of business.
Part of that conspiracy, says Best Choice, was shipping the
company substandard eggs in response to its application to import from the
United States. The federal
government grants the marketing boards an opportunity to line up Canadian eggs
to fill those orders.
The Best Choice allegations and company and marketing board
defences have yet to be tested in court. The companies deny any wrongdoing.
