So, as I was going through the bazillion websites to find a good article to do my blog on, I came across this article and it looked interesting so here it goes!
A subsidiary of a Brazilian-based company has taken over management of XL Foods, the Alberta-based plant at the heart of the recent beef recall. Before I begin talking about this topic, for those of you that don`t know about the whole Alberta beef recall situation, I will give you a quick recap about what happened. Beef products which were manufactured in Alberta are being recalled by XL Foods due to an e-coli bacterial contamination in one of their plants. 5 people were confirmed victims of e-coli bacterial infection after consuming the affected beef materials. Since this event, the plant has been shut down by authorities and their permit has been cancelled by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency. So, you guys might be wondering, " How does this topic tie in with business?" Well, I got the answer for that :) This article proved to be an amazing article to do my blog on since it talks about a lot of things that we discussed in class in the previous month such as exports/imports, Standards and Regulations, etc.
In 2011, Alberta was responsible of processing one third of all the beef products in Canada due to the XL foods plant which was located there. Albertan beef has a healthy worldwide market. Nearly one half of all Canadian beef is produced in Alberta. Alberta is one of the prime producers of plains buffalo. The recent beef recall had a tremendous impact on the economy of Alberta because it affected their exports levels. After the recall, people are hesitant to buy Albertan beef products due to the risk of e-coli contamination and it also affected the sales of beef products. This whole incident has cost the Albertan government millions in revenue due to its heavy reliance on the beef industry along with the tar sands, wheat and other commodities. Now it will take quite some time for the company to build up its reputation and gain the trust of the consumers.
As a cause and effect of this scenario, several employees from the XL Factory were laid off due to the shortage of work(a round 2000 workers) I strongly believe that the Brazilian company would be able to get a new permit from the CFIA to re-open the branch and re-start production. This would positively impact the lives of the residents that live in this area since they rely heavily on the beef business. Most of the residents that live in that neighborhood are either factory workers or cattle breeders. Since the closure of the factory, these residents have been unemployed. This ties in with what we talked in class about the power that local businesses have on the people living in that area. The economy of that city is greatly dependent on this one company and any changes in their management could affect the city as a whole.
As mentioned in class, most countries have specific laws which regulate foods that are sold within the country to ensure that certain levels of standards are met. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency( CFIA) is responsible for making sure that all the foods that are sold in Canada are making with sufficient care and pass the national standards. Consumption of food contaminated with E. coli may cause serious and potentially life-threatening illnesses, the agency says. A full list of the contaminated products is available on The Inspection Agency's Website.
This video clip is a news report from Global National about the Brazilian company that is taken over XL Foods. It also gives us more information regarding the current situation and what to expect in the near future. ( This video summarizes mostly everything about the recall if you are too lazy to read about it)
http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2012/10/22/xl-foods-beef-recall-plant-reopen_n_2003152.html#slide=1578372
http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/article/1148933--beef-recall-due-to-e-coli-fears-grows-to-135-products
http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/article/1148933--beef-recall-due-to-e-coli-fears-grows-to-135-products
