Government of Alberta Continues to Monitor Food Processing Plants

May 07, 2020

Alberta Health Services and Occupational Health and Safety continue to visit processing facilities within the Province to ensure control measures are being implemented.

Three of Alberta's 200 meat processing facilities have been forced to reduce operations as a result of COVID-19.

While it is not a food-borne disease, it is having an impact on operations as a number of employees have tested positive for the illness and have to self-quarantine, reducing the facilities' operations.

According to the Province, there have been 946 COVID-19 cases in workers at the Cargill facility and 798 workers (84 per cent) have recovered.

At JBS, 566 workers have confirmed cases and 434 workers (76 per cent) have recovered.

Harmony Beef has 38 confirmed COVID-19 cases in workers and 12 workers (32 per cent) have recovered.

Since the outbreaks were declared, Alberta Health Services has conducted three inspections at Cargill, four at JBS, and two at Harmony Beef.

Occupational Health and Safety joined Alberta Health Services on-site at Cargill for the reopening on Monday, and were back on site again Wednesday to further assess the operations.

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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.