Recall list continues to expand daily

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency continues to find more retailers who will need to recall beef and veal they bought from Ryding-Regency Meat Packers Ltd.

There were new lists posted Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, most of them small retailers in the Toronto-Mississauga area.

For example, on Wednesday PAT Central Meat and Roast Fine Foods, both of Toronto, were added to the CFIA recall list.

Ryding-Regency’s licence has been suspended, which means it’s closed.

Triple J Sausages faces inspections

Triple J Sausage Limited of Windsor is facing closer inspection following troubles last summer.

Owner Alfred Lebherz objected to five conditions provincial inspectors imposed on his operation and appealed to the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Appeal Tribunal – and lost.

The tribunal has ordered him to notify inspectors whenever he operates his facility to dry, cure and smoke meats, and to not only allow inspectors access, but also help them undertake their investigations.

The tribunal’s account of its public hearing indicates that Lebherz denied an inspector entry to the processing plant when he attempted to conduct a random inspection. Before that Lebherz always knew when inspectors would be coming.

The government suspended his licence on Aug. 14, held a hearing in December and restored his licence in January subject to five conditions. Lebherz objected to the conditions and filed the appeal.

Ag politicians returned

Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau retained her seat in Quebec by more than 3,000 votes, but Monday’s election also returned her critics.

Conservative agriculture critic Luc Berthold easily held his Quebec riding and incumbent Bloc Quebecois’ agriculture and labour critic and party whip, Simon Marcil, also easily hung onto his seat ,

NDP agriculture critic Alistair MacGregor won his Vancouver Island riding, but Green Party agriculture critic Kate Storey failed in her bid to win a Manitoba riding.

Liberal Ralph Goodale, who has often been Saskatchewan spokesman for farmers, was defeated after five decades in the House of Commons.

Whole Foods Markets recall beef

Whole Food Markets across Ontario are recalling a number of beef products sourced from Ryding-Regency Meat Packers of Toronto.

The beef might be contaminated with E. coli 0157:H7 food-poisoning bacteria, warns the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.

Hundreds of retail outlets, big and small, have been recalling Ryding-Regency beef and veal since the CFIA found E. coli 0157:H7 and suspended the company’s licence, effectively shutting it down.

The CFIA continues to say there have been no reported illnesses linked to Ryding-Regency beef and veal.

Novel phosphorus removal system on trial

A new way to remove phosphorus from tile-drained fields is underway near Chatham.

“The Waterloo EC-P™ is a patent pending technology with which we’ve done a lot of testing on sewage wastewater, so we know it will extract phosphorus from that,” said Christopher Jowett, Head of Technology & Government Relations at Waterloo Biofilter Systems Inc. 

“This is a different application for us, but we believe the demonstration will be successful.”

A shipping container has been installed at the pump station, which is near Prairie Siding. Inside are several tanks – two for settling out the solids and silt from municipal drain water and a third that contains electrodes made from steel between which a low voltage electrical current is passed.

The electricity dissolves the electrode, releasing iron ions which bind with phosphorus that is dissolved in the water. In a fourth tank, a foam filter causes the iron phosphate to crystallize as insoluble minerals. 

In another container, the water is first put through a silicate material that captures the removed phosphorus to be re-used as a fertilizer on agricultural crops.

“We’re basically growing microscopic rocks,” Jowett said, adding that, with this process, there’s no effect on the acidity or alkalinity of the water. 

In other residential sewage applications, between 90 and 99 per cent of the phosphorus dissolved in the wastewater has been removed. 

The pump station services approximately 340 acres of land in row crop production. 

The area receives a combination of tile and surface water which is pumped from the municipal drain to Jeannette’s Creek.

Phosphorus reduction is the strategy being pursued to prevent algae blooms in Lake Erie.

The trial is funded by the Thames River Phosphorus Reduction Collaborative which includes farm organizations such as the Ontario Federation of Agriculture which provided the information for this artible.

                        

Another day, another recall list

There’s another long list of recalled beef and veal products today, sourced from Ryding-Regency Meat Packers in Toronto.

Top of the list is Cracked Pepper Beef Sirloin Roast, (Boneless, Uncooked, Seasoned) sold at Wal-Mart stores in Ontario and Alberta.

Most of the others on today’s list posted by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency are single retail outlets, such as in Dundas, Wiarton and Fergus, but also in bigger communities such as Hamilton, Etobicoke and London.

The list is on the internet at https://www.inspection.gc.ca/about-the-cfia/newsroom/food-recall-warnings/complete-listing/2019-10-17/eng/1571358364676/1571358365136 .

The recalls are for possible contamination with E. coli 0157:H7 food-poisoning bacteria.

                           

Two sausages on recall

Venetian and Filicetti sausages are on recall because they may be contaminated with Salmonella bacteria.

Venetian Meat and Salami Co. Ltd. is recalling its Abruzzo Sopressata sausage and Filicetti Foods Inc. is recalling its Italian-style sausage.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency said testing identified salmonella. There have been no reports of illnesses associated with these products, it said.

The CFIA investigation is continuing and may lead to further recalls.