This fall XL Foods Inc had the largest recall in Canadian History. There plant processed 35% of Canada's beef. When some of the beef was sent to the United States it was inspected and found out to contain .E. coli There was a problem getting a recall going because of lax record keeping.
An independent panel of three Doctors was set up to find out what went wrong. They found long standing problems with cleanliness and bad inspection practices.
They reported that the company never practiced what to do incase of a recall.The staff didn't clean the equipment regularly. When they cleaned the equipment they did a poor job. The Canadian Food Inspection Service Promised To have sweeping reforms after the 2008 listeria contamination at Maple Leaf Foods. This Caused deaths and 57 serious illnesses. Yet the inspections at XL Foods were lax. the report stated that they had “a relaxed attitude toward applying mandatory procedures”.
They reported that it was likely that an animal that was highly infected with E coli spread the bacteria onto the equipment in the plant.Because of the poor sanitation the bacteria spread to other animals.
XL Foods Inc. for its poor communication with both the CFIA and the public. They did not providing CFIA with information quickly after it was discovered. “For its part, CFIA was clearly not monitoring the company’s [Food Safety Enhancement Program] and identifying deficiencies as carefully as they should have been,” the report states.
The report suggested that Canada approve irradiation for Canadian beef products The (cattlemen's association) believes irradiation, when used with food safety interventions already in use, could essentially eliminate E.-coli-related illness associated with ground beef, The cattlemen's association said it hopes to gain approval for beef irradiation during that time.
The Government promised to act on all the report’s recommendation. Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz says the Canadian Food Inspection Agency will strengthen E. coli testing in federally inspected establishments.The Government is planning to impose tougher rules to deal with the threat of E. coli in slaughterhouses.Meat packers will also have to provide production and distribution information on demand and in a standardized format.This will help speed up the food agency's ability to trace products during investigations and recalls.
First Paragraph should read: This fall XL Foods Inc had the largest recall in Canadian history. Their plant processed 35% of Canada's beef. When some of the beef was sent to the United States it was inspected and found out to contain E. coli There was a problem getting a recall going because of lax record keeping.
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