The Canadian Food Inspection Agency says it has no food-safety worries in allowing XL Foods plant in Brooks to re-open. “We are confident that all issues have been fully addressed,” said Paul Mayers, associate vice-president of programs for CFIA. Problems at the plant ranged from failing to follow its own food-safety plan to poor analysis […] Read more
CFIA says not more safety concerns at XL
Shrinking canola oil content pinches crushers, exporters
Supply worries about Canada’s disappointingly small canola harvest this year are compounded by the oilseed’s reduced oil content, crimping profits for crushers and leaving food companies to scramble for other vegetable oils. Expectations were high early in the crop year that a record-large canola crop in top grower Canada would compensate for some of the […] Read more
PotashCorp profit off on standoff with China, India
PotashCorp’s third-quarter earnings fell 22 per cent as a standoff over new contracts led to a sharp drop in shipments to China and India, the world’s two biggest consumers of the company’s namesake crop nutrient. The world’s biggest fertilizer maker said on Thursday that overseas potash shipments by North American producers dropped by one quarter […] Read more
XL’s Brooks beef plant reopens
The Canadian plant that produced millions of pounds of recalled beef was set to reopen on Tuesday as food inspection officials tried to restore consumer confidence in the country’s food safety system. XL Foods’ Brooks, Alta. plant has been closed since Sept. 27 after producing beef contaminated with E. coli bacteria that sickened at least […] Read more
Big packers eye Puratone and Big Sky
Reading Time: 2 minutes Reuters / Two Canadian pork processors are among those expressing interest in Canada’s second-biggest hog producer, Big Sky Farms, which is looking for new ownership after soaring feed costs left it unable to pay its bills. Big Sky, which produces about one million pigs per year and is based near Humboldt, Sask., entered receivership in […] Read more
Olymel offers $65M for hog producer Big Sky
Privately held Olymel, one of Canada’s largest pork processors, has offered to buy Canada’s second-largest hog producer out of receivership for $65.25 million. Big Sky Farms, which produces about a million pigs per year and is based near Humboldt, Sask., entered receivership in early September after piling up $69 million in debt to secured creditors. […] Read more
China buys at least 295K tonnes of Canadian spring wheat
China has purchased 295,000 tonnes of Canadian spring wheat over the past two weeks, Canadian industry sources with direct knowledge of the sales said, signaling China’s biggest appetite for the high-protein wheat in years. Some of the cargoes are expected to be delivered in November and others in January and later in Canada’s current 2012-13 […] Read more
Pork packers interested in ailing major hog producers
Two major Canadian pork processors are among those expressing interest in Canada’s second-biggest hog producer, Big Sky Farms — which is looking for new ownership after soaring feed costs left it unable to pay its bills. Big Sky, which produces about a million pigs per year and is based near Humboldt, Sask., entered receivership in […] Read more
Ranchers wait out beef recall, exports to U.S. grow
Western Canada’s ranchers and feedlots are holding slaughter-ready cattle back from market longer than usual, absorbing extra costs as they try to wait out the closure of one of the region’s biggest processing plants due to a massive recall of potentially tainted beef. But as the closure of XL Foods’ Lakeside beef plant at Brooks, […] Read more
Coop Federee, India ag co-op plan Quebec N plant
The Indian Farmers Fertilizer Co-operative (IFFCO), one of India’s largest fertilizer makers, plans to build a $1.2 billion nitrogen fertilizer plant with a partner in Quebec to cash in on strong North American demand. IFFCO and La Coop federee said Tuesday they plan to begin construction at Becancour, Que., across the St. Lawrence River from […] Read more
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