Employees of Bouvry Exports Calgary Ltd and Alberta’s cattle ranchers, feeders, livestock producers, and transport companies are waiting for Monday morning to learn if the meat-processing plant at Fort Macleod, Alta will be re-opening after a suspension that has lasted ten days.
Neither the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) nor Bouvry Exports made any new announcements over the weekend. CFIA last Friday said Bouvry’s, Fort Macleod pant was in a suspension that began Feb. 17. CFIA said the Alberta facility. failed to comply with regulations related to operational sanitation procedures to prevent cross-contamination of food, and preventative control measures for E. coli detection and temperature deviation in carcasses.
CFIA further said there was a risk of injury to the public if the company “continued to conduct the activities identified in its license. The license can be reinstated once the proper corrective measures are taken by Bouvry Exports, or if nothing is done the license can be terminated after 90 days.
A spokesman Friday said the company is going “above and beyond” to get the plant up and running. The spokesman said the company is working closely with CFIA on “corrective actions.”
The license suspension has caused lay-offs of employees from Fort MacLeod, the Blood Reserve, and the Piikani Nation, as well as surrounding areas.
Bouvry last closed its Fort Macleod plant for a week in May 2020 after an employee tested positive for COVID-19.
No food recalls were associated with the suspension, according to CFIA.
Officially, the license suspension at the Fort Macleod meat plant is fo failure to follow proper sanitation procedures.
“The CFIA suspended the license because the license holder failed to comply with sections 49 and 50(2) of the Safe Food for Canadians Regulations with regards to operational sanitation procedures to prevent cross-contamination of food and sections 47(2), 86, 88, and 89(1)(c) of the Safe Food for Canadians Regulations with respect to preventive control measures for the detection of E. coli and the detection of temperature deviations in carcasses,” read CFIA’s release.
“The CFIA may also cancel the license on other grounds set out in section 39 of the Safe Food for Canadians Regulations. Cancellation can occur after the license holder has been notified of the grounds for cancellation and provided with an opportunity to be heard,” it added.
Bouvry Exports produces and exports bison, elk, equine, and beef meats.
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