Livestock
One of Canada’s largest beef-packing plants may reopen this week, as Canadian food authorities continue to track down millions of pounds of meat potentially tainted with E. coli O157:H7 bacteria. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) is getting closer to locating all the beef products that were made at XL Foods’ Lakeside plant in Brooks, […] Read more
XL’s Brooks beef plant may reopen this week
Massive beef recall seen unlikely to rattle buyers
A huge recall of Canadian beef because of E. coli contamination is unlikely to slow that country’s beef consumption or its exports, analysts say, largely because the public has become familiar with E. coli. On Friday, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) temporarily shut down privately held XL Foods’ beef-packing plant at Brooks, Alta., where […] Read more
Cargill boosts Alta. beef output after XL closure
Cargill Ltd. has boosted beef production at its southern Alberta packing plant, after the temporary shutdown on Friday of rival XL Foods’ facility. Cargill said it increased production at its plant at High River, Alta., about 45 km south of Calgary, to ensure an adequate supply of beef is available for Canadian consumers, spokesman Mike […] Read more
Klassen: Buyers’ anxiety causes softer feeder cattle market
Western Canadian feeder cattle prices were $1 to $3 lower on average across Western Canada. The E. coli-related beef recall, along with the temporary closure of the XL Foods plant at Brooks, Alta., has set a negative tone to fed and feeder cattle prices. Fed cattle prices dropped to $106 per hundredweight (cwt) in Alberta […] Read more
U.S. cattle up as beef firms
U.S. cattle futures were higher on Monday as beef markets firmed and on signs the number of cattle offered to packers were waning while firm pork markets lifted hog futures, analysts and traders said. Feeder cattle futures gained on short-covering from Friday’s limit plunge after corn futures soared their limit in a bullish reaction to […] Read more
Ont. cop, ex-cop charged in alleged cheese-smuggling ring
A Niagara-area police officer and an ex-cop are among three charged in what’s alleged to be a "large-scale smuggling scheme" to bring illicit cheese into Ontario from the U.S. The Niagara Regional Police Service confirmed Thursday that charges under the Customs Act and others have been formally laid against Scott Heron, an NRPS constable suspended […] Read more
Soaring corn drives U.S. feeder cattle down limit
U.S. feeder cattle futures fell their daily three-cent-per-pound daily trading limit on Friday as corn soared by its 40-cent-per-bushel limit, traders and analysts said. Live cattle fell on weak cash cattle and beef markets and on hog/cattle spreading. Hog futures gained on the spread activity as traders bought hogs while selling cattle due to the […] Read more
CFIA yanks license for XL’s Brooks beef plant
Action to fix the E. coli controls at one of Canada’s biggest beef packing plants hasn’t come quick enough for Canada’s federal food safety watchdogs. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency announced late Thursday it has “temporarily suspended” the operating license for federal Establishment 38, otherwise known as XL Foods’ Lakeside Packers plant at Brooks, Alta. […] Read more
Ontario set to legislate local food policy
Provincial legislation being drafted in Ontario is expected to set up a platform for policy goals aimed at growing and marketing Ontario food. The Local Food Act, announced last week by Agriculture Minister Ted McMeekin, "could provide a framework for a more sustainable agriculture sector for Ontario," said Mark Wales, president of the Ontario Federation […] Read more
Libya to accept Canadian breeding cattle
Libya’s new government has moved to re-open the country’s ports to Canadian breeding cattle, ending a nine-year ban. The re-opened market is estimated in Canada’s livestock genetics industry to be worth up to $3 million, the Canadian government said in a release Thursday. Rick McRonald, executive director of the Canadian Livestock Genetics Association, thanked Ottawa […] Read more
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