An east Ottawa small business says it followed regulations and is disappointed the company supplying now-recalled beef allegedly didn’t do the same.
Lavergne Western Beef in Navan is named in the Canadian Food Inspection Agency’s (CFIA) latest round of beef recalls linked to the XL Foods processing plant in Alberta.
Manager Mario Ericksen said he found out Thursday his lean ground beef, sirloin tip and beef stew with a production date between Sept. 17 and 22 could be infected with E. coli.
“I’m disappointed, yeah, it's the first time it's happened to me and I hope it's the last,” he said.
“We only use federal approved or Ontario approved product, either pork or chicken or whatever . . . I buy that beef, it’s Canada approved, and for some reason I look bad when I thought I did what I had to do.”
Ericksen said all of the recalled items had been sold when he found out about the recall, meaning customers are now going to be returning it for a full refund.
About 200 pounds of beef have been returned so far, destined to be quarantined and destroyed.
“I don't think it's a reflection on him, I think it's a reflection on XL in Alberta,” said Glenn Hewus, a Lavergne customer.
The federal government said Saturday at least ten people have gotten sick from E. coli linked to beef processed at the XL plant, which suspended operations Sept. 27.
There are now more than 1,500 recalled products across Canada and the United States, affecting retailers such as Ericksen and Mat Flosse.
“Obviously some of our customers were scared by the beef recall so they weren't ordering as much beef around that time,” said the owner of Meatings.ca. “People aren't ordering the beef, the hamburgers and patties even.”
The CFIA said the plant won’t re-open until investigators are satisfied it’s safe.
“Hopefully somebody will smarten up and learn something from this,” Ericksen said.
With a report from CTV Ottawa’s Claudia Cautillo
