XL Foods recall cost beef industry $27 million

Jun 05, 2013

XL Foods recall cost beef industry $27 million

Report quantifies impact on Canadian beef industry

Last year’s XL Foods recall of 4,000 tonnes of beef cost the beef industry between $16 and $27 million in losses, according to an independent report released Wednesday. The losses were significant, especially since the XL plant represented 35% of the country’s beef processing market.

Farmers and ranchers took the hit, as the cost of feeding cattle increased for every day that cattle were held back from processing. At the time of the outbreak, cattle producers were forced to send their cattle to other processors in the province or to the U.S., which in many cases, paid less per head, knowing that ranchers had few options available.

The review found a relaxed attitude towards applying food safety standards in the plant. It was noted that the E. coli contamination likely occurred from equipment not being properly sterilized. The report outlined a total of 30 new recommendations, which Ottawa says it will accept.

Following the outbreak, Cargill Ltd. and JBS USA bought the former XL Foods plant.

Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.