The shelves of Sobeys and Co-op food stores will be stocked with meat from High River's Cargill plant as the temporary shutdown of its rival XL Foods in Brooks continues into its second week.
Officials for the Sobeys stores in Olds and Sundre, along with counterparts at the Co-op outlets in Olds and Carstairs, said they have made arrangements to have new deliveries of meat brought in this week to replace the dwindling supplies from XL Foods. Cargill and XL are the two largest beef processors in Canada.
“We have switched suppliers,” said Rodney Perigny, general manager of Westview Co-op, which represents both the Olds and Carstairs outlets. “There are no other players. They are the market.”
He said XL Foods meat products that are on the recall list have already been pulled from the shelves.
At Sobeys, store officials decided to pull all its inventory of XL Foods meat products before the Brooks plant was closed Sept. 27 following the announcement by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA).
E. coli was first detected at the XL plant on Sept. 4. It was traced back to Aug. 23, a slaughter day at the plant. There have been five non-fatal cases of E. coli that have been linked to the recall. Four others are being investigated. The CFIA banned XL Foods from shipping additional meat to the U.S. on Sept. 13 but didn't alert the Canadian public until three days later.
“Regardless of the manufacturing date or the lot coding we have no XL food products on our shelves,” said Steve Hodges, communications specialist for Sobeys West. He said while an agreement has been made with Cargill to bring in new shipments of meats for Sobeys stores the priority for the company is on health and safety for its customers.
“We are being proactive. We are guaranteeing safety,” said Hodges, adding the company is encouraging consumers to call its Customer Care line at 1-888476-2397 if they have any concerns over meat quality. He added customers can return any meat products to stores to receive a refund.
In the meantime, the CFIA added more than 200 meat products to its recall list of 1,500 items last week.
Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz also said last week that the XL Foods plant, contrary to earlier reports, would not be opening any time soon until the CFIA confirms in writing the Brooks facility, which will be subject to increased surveillance and testing, can operate safely.
“Canadian consumers and their families have always been and will continue to be the Government of Canada's first priority,” Ritz said in a prepared statement.
Last Thursday, XL Foods issued a statement conceding its processes were “not enough.”
The company said changes would be made but it did not offer an apology.
"We believed XL Foods was a leader in the beef processing industry with our food safety protocols, but we have now learned it was not enough. We take full responsibility for our plant operations and the food it produces (and are) doing everything we can to take the lead in an enhanced comprehensive food safety program for our plant," the release said.
"XL Foods has targeted prevention, process verification and correction, response and product control as areas where food safety enhancements are required."
The company said it is implementing new safety measures, including expanded hot-water washing, remote surveillance and increased training.
