The Canadian Food Inspection Agency has released a letter made public yesterday that was sent to them by XL’s co-CEOs Brian and Lee Nilsson. The letter states that there will be “top down [changes] throughout the organization.” The official CFIA Inspection Report describes the inspection of the facility and problems found during the inspection. And the CFIA sent a list of Corrective Action Requests to the company based on that inspection.
XL Foods’ beef was recalled in a massive undertaking last month because it was potentially contaminated with E. coli 0157:H7. There is an outbreak of foodborne illness linked to XL Foods beef in Canada.
Promised changes include re-validation and increased computer monitoring of the hot water wash intervention and a modified pre-evisceration carcass wash cabinet that will be operational by next February. The employee training program will be redesigned by third-party experts and more quality-control personnel will be added to each shift to ensure that dressing practices are sanitary.
In addition, employees will work with the CFIA inspection staff to monitor the food safety performance using micro data, CCP and OPSAN observations, compliance to FSEP pre-requisite programs, and CVA tasks. The letter states, “the facility is committed to becoming recertified under the requirements of the Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI).” The facility lost certification of the BRC program in October by not completing the audit.
