2012-10-05 - Statement on E. coli O157:H7 Investigation

On September 27, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) suspended the license to operate at XL Foods, Inc., due to the ongoing E. coli O157:H7 investigation.

All products left in the facility at the time of the suspension remain under CFIA control. Work is ongoing to assess the safety of the remaining product.

Operations will not resume until the CFIA is satisfied that the plant is effectively managing food safety risks at all stages of production.

The CFIA has issued a number of corrective action requests to XL Foods Inc. In general, findings showed that although the company had an approved plan to deal with E. coli, that plan was not fully followed and was not being updated.

The Agency has already issued several public health alerts warning the public of products that are being recalled by XL Foods Inc. related to this incident.

The CFIA continues to work with XL Foods Inc. to collect information from suppliers, distributors and retailers to identify where affected product has been distributed. As a result, additional products may be recalled and the CFIA would immediately alert the public.

These recall expansions are common, because some of the affected products were sent to other distributors before going to retailers. This means affected products could be repackaged or processed further.

When dealing with public health alerts, the CFIA needs to be sure that it has the right products identified and all products identified. This can be a time-consuming process.

CFIA inspectors are contacting and visiting retailers across the country to make sure products identified are being removed from store shelves.

The CFIA's top priority is the health and safety of Canadians. Our decisions have been, and continue to be, based on scientific evidence and a precautionary approach to protect consumers from potentially harmful products.

We remain committed to providing timely and accurate information to the public as it becomes available.