Southern Alberta Council on Public Affairs (SACPA)

On September 27, 2012, nearly two weeks after E. coli 0157:H7 alarm bells first sounded, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) suspended the operating license of XL Foods Inc. beef processing plant in Brooks, AB. 1800+ products of potentially contaminated beef was recalled/destroyed here and in the US, the largest recall of beef ever in Canada. XL Foods Inc. is a privately held Alberta corporation with beef packing facilities located mainly in Alberta and Nebraska, US and is the largest Canadian owned and operated beef processor, although a sale to the huge multi-national Brazilian meatpacker JBS is pending. With over 2000 employees, XL Foods in Brooks is a major employer in Southern Alberta. The suspension of XL Foods Inc. plants and the massive recall of their beef products have created much controversy….who is responsible, what role did Governments play, should the plant have been shut down earlier, was dumping millions of pounds of beef necessary and are beef producers again on the receiving end of