Beef recall expanded to include more than 100 new products

OTTAWA (NEWS1130) – With four people reporting E. coli illnesses associated with products originating from XL foods, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency has once again expanded the beef recall that may have affected up to one-third of all the beef slaughtered in Canada.

The expansion now includes various steak products and meat cuts, and the CFIA is warning the recall my still be expanded again.

Information on the latest recalls can be found here. The main page on recalls can be found here, while a summary on events and statement by the CFIA can be found here.

In the meantime, the CFIA has suspended the licence of the Alberta meat-packing facility at the centre of the scare.

The suspension is in effect until the plant can show corrective measures have been taken.

There are already more than 250 products being recalled, but since investigators are still going through the distribution system they can’t say at this time how widespread these new additions will be.

Amid criticism of a slow response, Dr. Brian Evans from the CFIA said it took 12 days to issue the first recall because it wasn’t initially clear how bad the situation was at the plant.

“I believe we’ve acted responsibly once we had evidence that was suggestive. We acted aggressively based on a precautionary basis and we will continue to review our activities into the future to determine if in hindsight if there was anything that we missed,” Dr. Evans said.

The agency said if you have any doubts about the food in your fridge, it’s best to throw it out immediately or bring it back to the store.