Category: Food Safety

With less cattle slaughter capacity in Canada, many ranchers and feedyards are concerned about the possibility for the feeder cattle and live basis to significantly widen.  A basis that gets too wide makes the current Canadian model unworkable. Currently the live cattle basis sites at 16-18 which is the same as last year at this… Read More

In the a story that seems to be getting stranger and more unpredictable with every passing day, XL Foods has decided to bring back 800 of the 2,000 laid-off workers.  If you are saying to yourself, “huh?” Don’t feel bad, I think everyone is.  XL foods released the 2,000 workers just yesterday. In a report by… Read More

With an uncertain timeline for the re-opening of the packing plant, XL Foods had made the decision to temporarily layoff 2000 of its union workers. Up until this point XL Foods has been honoring the contract of the workers during the shut down but that has stopped immediately. This layoff does not mean that the… Read More

Assuming that CFIA will eventually allow the Lakeside plant to re-open, many producers and industry insiders are discussing some of the challenges that XL Foods faces in re-establishing sales with customers around Canada, the United States and the rest of the world. There are few that know more than Ted Haney about selling beef around… Read More

Did you know there is a cattle vaccine that “aids in the reduction of shedding of E. coli O157”? If your first thought is, “Then why do we still have E. coli contamination?” you’re not alone. The fact is, although Canadian beef producers have been instrumental in supporting work to find a solution to E…. Read More

XL Foods has broken their silence by releasing a statement today to address the E. Coli outbreak at it’s Brooks, Alberta packing plant.  For many inside the industry this statement is about 7-10 days too late but nevertheless they have finally spoken. SEE MORE COVERAGE OF THE XL FOODS E. COLI OUTBREAK For some communications experts we… Read More

The XL Foods situation has left beef producers and consumers wading in unknowns and unanswered questions. The question is, who will buy this beef? Many of us are wondering what really happened at the XL Foods plant, who is more to blame between XL Foods and CFIA and when the plant will re-open. There are… Read More

I had a Twitter conversation yesterday, regarding E. coli contamination, that got me rather riled up. Because Twitter allows me to interact with so many people, it really does open my eyes to some of the major knowledge gaps the public has on food safety. As we discussed the XL Foods beef recall, some tweeted… Read More

In a month where E. coli has become the number one story on the nightly news and criticism is growing for how XL Foods has kept incredibly silent on the topic, a company is showcasing how to handle public relations. McDonald’s Canada has launched a website to address consumer questions about its food.  The site tagline is “Our Food,… Read More

The fallout from the XL Foods meat recall continues as the latest development has the CFIA shutting down the Brooks facility until corrective actions can be taken. In the meantime, consumer confidence continues to wane as the urban sector tries to wrap it’s head around what is happening. See all of all of the RealAgriculture.com… Read More