Silk producer seeks creditor protection

Joriki Inc. of Pickering is seeking protection from its creditors after plant-based milks it made for Danone Canada sickened dozens of customers and killed three with Listeria monocytogenes food-poisoning bacteria.

Joriki owes $203-million to more than 200 creditors, according to the trustee. That includes $174-million to the Bank of Nova Scotia, $16.1-million to Roynat Capital Inc., $206,000 to Danone North America, and $775,000 in unpaid wages and benefits.

Joriki has four North American facilities - three in Canada and one in the U.S.

“Please be advised that the company is not bankrupt and has availed itself of a procedure whereby a company, with creditor and court approval, restructures its financial affairs,” said a letter sent to creditors Friday by trustee Alvarez and Marsal Canada Inc.

Joriki was contracted by Danone Canada to produce plant-based milks at the Pickering facility. 

Several varieties of almond, coconut and other plant milks under the Silk and Great Value brands were recalled on July 8 after public-health officials linked listeria cases to a production line at the site. 

Danone Canada has moved all production to other suppliers.

 

“We do not anticipate any disruption in supply in the short term and will work closely with our partners to ensure Canadians can continue to enjoy Silk refrigerated beverages,” Danone Canada spokesperson Jennifer Vincent said.

HPAI in Middlesex

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency has detected avian influenza in a commercial poultry flock in North Middlesex.

That increases the number of infected flocks in Ontario to seven.

Chicken litter raises a stink

Chicken litter spread as fertilizer has polluted the Illinois River watershed, prompting one expert witness at a court hearing to call for a ban.

Gregory Scott of the Oklahoma Conservation Commission told the court a ban on using chicken litter as fertilizer is the only way to significantly reduce phosphorus pollution in Oklahoma’s eastern waterways.

He was testifying in a case in which Tyson Foods and other poultry companies were judged guilty of water pollution and now Judge Gregory Frizzell is pondering recommendations to deal with the issue.

Attorney General Gentner Drummond’s office presented multiple expert witnesses, including Scott, who also suggested vegetative buffer strips and planting hay in phosphorus-rich areas to mitigate the problem. 

Removing hay from the watershed could significantly reduce phosphorus levels, Scott testified, according to reporting from Investigate Midwest.

While Scott recommended banning chicken litter fertilizer, Drummond’s office clarified this was not a specific request but part of expert testimony. 

Drummond has proposed a phosphorus application limit of 65 pounds per acre, far below the current state limit of 300 pounds.

Poultry companies argued that trucking chicken litter out of state has mitigated its impact, though one of their witnesses acknowledged the waterways remain impaired by state standards. 

Police looking for tractor thief

 

Huron County detachment of Ontario Provincial Police are looking for a thief who stole a tractor from a Brussels-area property.

The stolen tractor is a Red Mahindra 1526H tractor with front loader, rear snow blower and soft cab cover. Serial #'s M1060RD206561, 26H17041377, 171702736.

Premium Brands buys three more

 

Premium Brands which has grown by buying companies has bought three more.

They have combined sales of $250 million US per year.

It has also completed the sale and leaseback of Hempler’s deli meats production facility in Washington state after it was recently expanded.

It paid $50 million US in cash, and $10 million US in Premium Brands common shares and contingent consideration of $6 million.

The companies it bought are NSP Quality Meats, a cooked protein and deli meats manufacturer in Oklahoma, Texas and Missouri.

Casa Di Bertacchi of New Jersey and Italia Salami of Guelph, Ont.

Premium Brands is based in Vancouver. It owns several Ontario companies including Piller’s Meats and Delicatessens of Waterloo and Belmont Meats of North York.

PDCoV hits Waterloo farm

 

A hog finisher barn in the Waterloo Region has been hit with an outbreak of Porcine Deltacoronavirus.