XL report slams staff and CFIA

A panel that delved into the reasons behind the biggest beef recall in history says that both staff of XL Foods Inc. and inspectors for the Canadian Food Inspection Agency failed to be diligent about food safety.

And it appears that the meat was contaminated with E. coli 0157:H7 in much the same way that Listeria monocytogenes contaminated processed meats at the Maple Leaf Foods Inc. plant in Toronto, leading to the death of 23 people.

“It was all preventable,” concludes an independent review of the 2012 XL Foods Inc. beef recall, in which 1,800 products were removed from the Canadian and U.S. markets and 18 consumers were sickened.

The XL Foods Inc. plant in Brooks, Alta., accounted for 35 per cent of Canada’s beef processing, and the independent panel led by three doctors found long-standing problems with cleanliness and proper inspection practices.

They report the root cause of the problem was likely an animal that was heavily contaminated with E. coli-157:H7.

“As the contaminated carcass moved through the plant, the bacteria became lodged in or on a piece of equipment within the establishment,” the report states. “It seems likely that sanitation was inadequate.”

XL is also faulted for failing to practice what to do in the event of a major recall, and its staff failed to ensure equipment was regularly and properly cleaned.

Canadian Food Inspection Agency workers at the plant failed to notice the problems.

These and many other issues persisted four years after the government promised sweeping food-safety reforms in response to the 2008 listeria bacteria contamination at Maple Leaf Foods that took the lives of 23 Canadians and led to serious illness in 57 others who ate tainted meat products.

In a report released on Wednesday, the independent panel said it found “a relaxed attitude toward applying mandatory procedures” at the Brooks plant, where company staff work with government inspectors.

“It was a series of inadequate responses by two key players in the food-safety continuum that played the most critical part leading to the September, 2012, event at XL Foods Inc. – plant and CFIA staff.

“We found that responsibilities towards food-safety programs were not always met – by both plant staff and CFIA officials on site,” the report states.

The panel was chaired by Ronald Lewis and included two others with doctorate degrees: André Corriveau and Ronald Usborne. 

Buyer kicking tires at Organic Meadow

The bankruptcy court has given Organic Meadow an extension to June 16 because a secret buyer wants 35 days to check the books.

The dairy cooperative is blaming the Dairy Farmers of Ontario marketing board for pushing it into seeking bankruptcy-court protection from its creditors.

The milk board put Organic Meadow on a cash-on-delivery basis after the cooperative ran up a large debt for milk purchases.

The bankruptcy court has forced suppliers, including the milk board, to keep on doing business with the cooperative while it is in bankruptcy protection seeking a way out of its dire financial straits.

Third massive Iowa egg farm has avian flu

A third massive egg-laying business in Iowa will have to euthanize all of its birds after an outbreak of avian influenza strain H5N2.

The third farm has 5.5 million layers. Iowa has now lost 15 million layers, which is a third of its production capacity.

“A week ago we had the disease at three sites. It went from 12 to 17 today,” Iowa Agriculture Secretary Bill Northey said during an increasingly frequent telephone news conference on the subject.

In addition to the 5.5 million-hen commercial laying operation, the Buena Vista cases include two turkey facilities still awaiting bird population estimates.

Sioux County's third case involves 84,000 hens, and Clay County's first case involves a yet to be determined number of laying hens.

In Minnesota, which has declared an emergency, National Guard troops were deployed to haul water to affected farms where it's needed to get composting of euthanized carcasses initiated.

Canada, U.S., at a standoff on TPP

Canada and the United States are at a temporary standoff in negotiations for the 12-country Trans-Pacific Partnership.

Canada says it is waiting to see whether U.S. president Barrack Obama can gain approval for fast-track negotiating status – i.e. all or nothing as opposed to cherry-picking.

The U.S. says Canada has to make some significant concessions.

"The question of Canada's participation in the TPP — I think, really, that's something that's going to be up to Canada," Catherine Novelli, the U.S. undersecretary of state, told a media briefing.

"All the other countries are making very strong commitments, including on agriculture. Agriculture is always difficult, and we're all going to put on the table commitments. So the question is: what's the level of ambition that the Canadian government has?

"We would love to have Canada be part of the agreement ... I think that's a judgment the Canadian government's going to have to make."

She expressed hope the deal might be concluded soon, with a negotiating round scheduled in Guam for the last two weeks of May and a meeting of ministers in the Philippines May 26-28.

XL report slams staff and CFIA

A panel that delved into the reasons behind the biggest beef recall in history says that both staff of XL Foods Inc. and inspectors for the Canadian Food Inspection Agency failed to be diligent about food safety.

And it appears that the meat was contaminated with E. coli 0157:H7 in much the same way that Listeria monocytogenes contaminated processed meats at the Maple Leaf Foods Inc. plant in Toronto, leading to the death of 23 people. The bacteria lodged in processing equipment and was not cleaned out and fully sanitized.

“It was all preventable,” concludes an independent review of the 2012 XL Foods Inc. beef recall, in which 1,800 products were removed from the Canadian and U.S. markets and 18 consumers became sick.

The XL Foods Inc. plant in Brooks, Alta., accounted for 35 per cent of Canada’s beef processing, and the independent panel led by three doctors found long-standing problems with cleanliness and proper inspection practices.

They report the root cause of the problem was likely an animal that was heavily contaminated with E. coli-157:H7.

“As the contaminated carcass moved through the plant, the bacteria became lodged in or on a piece of equipment within the establishment,” the report states. “It seems likely that sanitation was inadequate.”

XL is also faulted for failing to practice what to do in the event of a major recall, and its staff failed to ensure equipment was regularly and properly cleaned.

Canadian Food Inspection Agency workers at the plant failed to notice the problems.

These and many other issues persisted four years after the government promised sweeping food-safety reforms in response to the 2008 listeria bacteria contamination at Maple Leaf Foods that took the lives of 23 Canadians and led to serious illness in 57 others who ate tainted meat products.

In a report released on Wednesday, the independent panel said it found “a relaxed attitude toward applying mandatory procedures” at the Brooks plant, where company staff work with government inspectors.

“It was a series of inadequate responses by two key players in the food-safety continuum that played the most critical part leading to the September, 2012, event at XL Foods Inc. – plant and CFIA staff.

“We found that responsibilities towards food-safety programs were not always met – by both plant staff and CFIA officials on site,” the report states.

The panel was chaired by Ronald Lewis and included two others with doctorate degrees: André Corriveau and Ronald Usborne.

Despite decades of warnings from Dr. Doug Powell, who has a doctorate in food safety communications, too many companies fail to develop and ensure food safety culture in their facilities.

That's far more important than rules, regulations, inspections and audits, Powell has repeatedly said.