Beef recall expands, Ontario slaughterhouse co-operates

A large recall of raw beef and veal products continued to expand this week with food safety watchdogs in Canada and the United States issuing safety warnings about meat linked to an Ontario company.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency said Wednesday its investigation continues into the Torontobased slaughterhouse Ryding-Regency Meat Packers Ltd., which had its licence suspended Sept. 17 due to possible E. coli O157:H7 contamination.

At the time, the CFIA said the facility “failed to implement effective control measures.”

In Canada, the latest warning is about dozens of items sold at restaurants and retail outlets including Walmart and the gourmet food chain Pusateri’s.

On Wednesday, the U.S. Department of Agriculture issued a public health alert for some raw beef products imported from Canada that are linked to the growing beef and veal product recall.

The products were distributed to institutions and retailers in Connecticut, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Vermont, the USDA said.

A spokesman for the processing facility described the safety concerns solely as “a deficiency in paperwork” and not a matter of improper food handling.

“As CFIA reviewed the paperwork they noticed some gaps in recording of daily procedures and so in an abundance of caution, the company is voluntarily recalling meat products that have been sent out,” said Neil Brodie, vice-president of the Ottawa-based public affairs firm Bluesky Strategy Group.

“It looks like some of the employees were not fully trained on what to do.”

A series of CFIA recall warnings over the past several weeks has grown to involve 665 meat products sold on grocery store shelves, as well as 625 items sent to hotels, restaurants, institutions, manufacturers and retailers - products that include variable sizes of steaks, roasts, burgers, bones and organ meats.

The latest recall on Tuesday included a Steakhouse Select brand of cracked pepper beef sirloin roast sold at Walmart in Ontario and Alberta; a Fast Fresh Fabulous brand of bacon-wrapped medallions sold at Overwaitea in British Columbia; and more than a dozen products sold at various Pusateri’s Fine Foods outlets in the Toronto area.

The agency said more recalls could follow.

The CFIA said there have been no reported illnesses.