The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) has cancelled the Safe Food for Canadians license of Ryding-Regency Meat Packers LTD that are loaded in Toronto, Ontario, effective December 2, 2019. The license of this facility was suspended on September 17, 2019.
This happened because “of the opinion that a risk of injury to human health may result if the licence holder continues to conduct an activity that is identified in their licence. It was determined as part of a food safety investigation that the licence holder had failed to implement effective control measures.” Many food recalls for E. coli O157:H7 in various beef and veal products were associated with this investigation. You can see the long list of recalled products, brand names, and more information about these recalls at the CFIA web site.
The CFIA also found that the company did not comply with Section 15 of the Safe Food for Canadians Act about their E. coli lab test results. Section 15 provides that “it is prohibited to make a false or misleading statement or to provide false or misleading information to a person exercising duties under the Act in connection with the Act or the SFCR. Non-compliance with this provision is grounds for cancellation under section 39 of the SFCR.”
Ryding-Regency Meat Packers was told on October 22, 2019 of the grounds considered for licence cancellation and was told they could tell their side of the story. After the meeting, the CFIA found that the company did not comply with Section 15 and cancelled their license.
