XL Foods, Canada, will be recalling 800 of the 2,000 employees it laid-off temporarily. The lay-off followed Canada's biggest food recalls.
XL Foods has come under fire for sending out beef products tainted with E.Coli into the market. A lackadaisical attitude toward checking for high levels of E.Coli in the slaughterhouse and not following proper sanitary procedures is said to be the reason.
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) allowed the company to resume some of the operations. XL Foods is currently working on being relicensed to resume full operations. The time being taken to get relicensed is quoted as the reason behind the lay-offs.
"For the past three weeks employees have received full pay on their 32 hour weekly guarantee with few scheduled shifts available. We have paid our valued team members, out of a commitment to our workforce and to assist them through this difficult time." said Brian Nilsson, Co-CEO of XL Foods, in a statement.
However, the company will be bringing back 800 of the employees to show the CFIA that it has upgraded several procedures.
"Pasture, processing, palletizing, tech rendering and all other support areas are to report for work at their rendered time on Tuesday, Oct. 16, 2012. Maintenance is working their usual shifts," says a recorded message on an employee phone line.
The company hopes that this move will encourage CFIA to grant XL Foods permission to resume operations.
"We look forward to actively working with CFIA to bring this to a viable and timely resolution to allow the plant to recommence operations," Nilsson said in a press release.
However, the CFIA and Gerry Ritz, the Canadian Agriculture Minister, say that XL Foods can be fully opened up for operations once it complies with all the rules and regulations imposed on it.
"Consumer confidence is critical for Canada's beef industry, and that's why we won't compromise when it comes to the safety of Canadians' food," Ritz said in a statement, according to The Global Edmonton.
"The Canadian Food Inspection Agency's food safety inspectors will continue to work diligently to ensure that all safety issues at the Brooks plant are corrected."
Both the CFIA and XL Foods have been widely criticized for their response to the contaminated meat on the market. XL Foods accounts for a third of all beef products exported from Canada, the major buyer being the United States.
As a result, U.S. Department of Agriculture, for the first time in three years, will lend a hand in inspecting XL Foods.
