OTTAWA, ON (NEWS1130) – Food safety officials say millions of kilograms of beef from the Alberta plant involved in the E. coli scare are being stored and some of it could end up back on dinner tables.
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency says this meat includes 5.5 million kilograms of beef being held in warehouses that never went to market, as well as beef that has been recalled by XL Foods Inc. The agency says it doesn’t know how much recalled beef there is by weight.
Officials say the company has three options for all of this beef, including destroying it or dumping it in landfills. But XL Foods may also be allowed to send some of it back to market if it is cooked at a high enough temperature to kill off any potential E. coli.
The agency says tests on beef cut earlier this week at the plant in Brooks came back negative for the bacteria.
CFIA spokesman Paul Mayers says the agency is now looking at the actual work done during the inspection.
“The CFIA is now reviewing its observations of deboning and cutting activities, specific E. coli controls, meat hygiene, sampling techniques and overall sanitation in the plant,” Mayers said during a teleconference Friday. “These findings, including a plan for next steps, will be finalized over the weekend.”
“We know everyone is eager to have this work completed, and we are certainly moving ahead as quickly as possible, but must remain focused on the need to protect consumers.”
The Public Health Agency of Canada said one more case of E. coli poisoning has been linked to meat from the plant, bringing the total to 16. The person from Quebec became ill in September but is recovering.
More than 1,800 beef products that originated at the Brooks plant have been recalled from dozens of retailers in Canada and the United States since last month.
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Some recalled beef could be sold again
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