Reading Time: 2 minutes Citing concerns over testing practices at the ill-fated Rancher’s Beef plant near Calgary, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced Saturday that it will increase testing for E. coli O157:H7, listeria and salmonella on imports of meat and poultry from Canada, starting this week. USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) said shipments tapped for inspection […] Read more
USDA tightens testing on Canadian meat
Summer’s worth of Rancher’s Beef recalled
Reading Time: < 1 minute The now-closed Rancher’s Beef Ltd. near Calgary, working with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, has announced a recall of all beef distributed from its Balzac, Alta. plant between June 8 and Aug. 15 this year. The recall is of all products distributed directly to the company’s corporate clients in Canada, including distributors, processors and “a […] Read more
N.B. adds programs for hog farmers
Reading Time: < 1 minute New Brunswick’s provincial government will put up $150,000 to help hog farmers audit and adapt their farms to handle new market opportunities. The Hog Industry Enhancement and Renewal Initiative, announced Friday, will support: production audits by professionals such as veterinarians, engineers or agrologists, to assess requirements needed to meet new market possibilities, for 75 per […] Read more
Canada, U.S. cut red tape on processing potatoes
Reading Time: < 1 minute Already each other’s largest export markets for potatoes, Canada and the U.S. on Thursday concluded new agreements that Ottawa said will further smooth cross-border trade in potatoes for processing or further-repackaging. The “Technical Arrangement Concerning Trade in Potatoes” came into effect Thursday and will be phased in over three years. It includes mutual recognition of […] Read more
Feed maker Ridley posts improved Q1
Reading Time: 2 minutes Strong sales growth in the U.S. improved the first-quarter bottom line for Winnipeg feed maker Ridley Inc., despite tough times for its Canadian customers, the company reported Friday. The company, which also operates a U.S. head office in Minnesota, posted $2.6 million in net earnings on $139.8 million in sales for the quarter ending Sept. […] Read more
Gas discharge costs sulphur maker $280K
Reading Time: < 1 minute Sulphur fertilizer maker Tiger Industries has been fined $280,000 for a toxic gas release at its former Calgary manufacturing plant, the provincial environment department said Thursday. The company pled guilty Tuesday to a provincial charge of releasing a substance that causes or may cause an adverse effect — in this case, sulphur dioxide, which the […] Read more
Fertilizer markets tighten in Agrium’s favour
Reading Time: < 1 minute A combination of higher volumes and higher prices on tight world fertilizer markets led fertilizer maker Agrium to a significant boost in its third-quarter profits, the company said Thursday. The Calgary company posted net earnings of $51 million on $1.04 billion in sales in its quarter ending Sept. 30, up from $1 million net on […] Read more
CN, CPR rethink interchange points
Reading Time: < 1 minute Canadian National (CN) and Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) have drafted a new routing protocol to cut congestion at points where freight traffic shifts from one company’s track to the other. The two railways announced Thursday in a joint release that their plan will direct flows of interline traffic through the “most fluid, efficient” interchange sites […] Read more
Meat industry urges “caution” on cancer report
Reading Time: 3 minutes Canada’s national meat industry groups urge consumers to take “caution” with some of the recommendations from the World Cancer Research Fund’s recent report on cancer risk stemming from diet, physical activity and obesity. The British-based cancer group on Tuesday sent ripples through the North American meat industry with its report, in which recommendations to help […] Read more
CWB’s malting barley gets China’s “Green” label
Reading Time: < 1 minute China’s Green Food Development Centre, which certifies foods for sustainable, “green” farming practices, has approved its “Green Food” label for Chinese beer made with Canadian malting barley. The Canadian Wheat Board has been granted “Green Food” accreditation for shipments of up to 600,000 tonnes per year of Prairie malting barley, the board announced Thursday. That’s […] Read more