Hog slaughter and meat processing lines at the Pine Haven Colony were restarted in mid-May, roughly a month after the Canadian Food Inspection Agency issued a recall of pork products sold from the plant from Feb. 19 through April 24.
Alberta Health Services announced on March 29 that it was investigating an outbreak of pathogenic E. coli 0157:H7. By the end of April, its laboratory had confirmed that the foodborne bacteria had infected 37 people, of whom one had died. Investigations pointed to raw pork from Pine Haven as a source of the infection.
On April 24, the CFIA issued a recall affecting several varieties of raw pork produced at the colony and distributed to retail and wholesale customers. Pine Haven published the recall on its website the following day. The recall quickly expanded to pork products from several Alberta-based retailers, including K&K Foodliner, Real Deal Meats, Fuge Fine Meat and Irvings Farm Fresh.
Speaking from The Meat Shop at Pine Haven on May 23, Manager Tim Hofer said he and his crew have hired professionals to help investigate their processes and protocols from the back of the barn to the front of the retail store.
Pine Haven Colony is located southeast of Wetaskiwin, within easy driving distance of Edmonton.
The plant, which normally processes 50 hogs per week plus beef cattle and chickens, was shut down during the initial phases of the investigation. While it has been put back into production, the investigation continues, said Hofer.
“Pathogenic bacteria, unfortunately, is a challenge that, as an industry, we need to face, we need to deal with,” he said
“We’re doing everything that we can do to look into and try and figure out what happened, and where we can strengthen procedures to make sure it doesn’t happen again.”
So far, their findings indicate that the microbes had emerged in the hog barn and were carried into the plant on the bodies of pigs destined for slaughter.
Pathogenic E. coli 0157H:57– a strain of bacteria carried in an animal’s digestive system – is common in cattle, but rare in pigs, normally affecting two per cent or fewer of all animals, said Hofer.
There would be no way of knowing the pigs were carrying the bacteria because it does not affect them, he said.
Provincial meat inspectors, who must be on site and alert whenever the slaughter line is running, had reported nothing amiss, nor did meat inspectors who make routine visits to the processing lines where fresh cuts, sausages and other products are prepared.
Regardless of how stringently the plant itself is cleaned and disinfected, there is potential for every animal that is walked in from the barn to carry pathogens on its body.
Although E. coli cannot withstand much heat, the temperature in the scalding bath that is part of the dehairing process is not high enough to destroy the bacteria and other pathogens that the animals may be carrying on their hides, said Hofer.
Pine Haven’s regular customers have shown a high level of support for the operation, but only time will tell how much impact the outbreak and recall will have on sales, said Hofer. The colony processes all its own beef, swine and poultry onsite.
He said Pine Haven is “absolutely” following the footsteps of Maple Leaf President Michael McCain in making sure to be transparent and upfront while dealing with a crisis. McCain’s leadership set a new standard for food processors when a number of people fell ill, some fatally, from eating listeria-contaminated meat produced at an Ontario plant.
Hofer said the Meat Shop at Pine Haven, established in 2004, hopes to continue providing high-quality, healthy meat to consumers in Central Alberta.
“There’s a lot of support from within the community,” he said. “We know what our goals have been all along. Our goals have never been to be negligent – we know how hard we’ve tried to make our business work to create safe food, and we just rely on that fact. We draw on that fact. What’s come upon us has come upon us, and we’ll deal with it one step at a time, one day at a time.”
Alberta Health Services, on its website, issues caution for people and businesses when handling raw meat. It describes two forms for potentially infection: Insufficient cooking and cross-contamination.
E. coli bacteria grows on the surface of food, so any meat that has been exposed to air and equipment, including countertops and knives, has potential to carry and spread the infection.
Ground meats need to be cooked thoroughly because all surfaces have been exposed. The inner portion of solid cuts, such as steaks and roasts, does not carry the same potential for infection, so can safely be served rare, providing the surface is well done.
Cooking to at least 71C (160F) destroys any bacteria that may be present on the food, so hot food should be kept hot until it is served.
Food that is not to be served immediately should be chilled as quickly as possible to 4C (39F) or colder to keep bacteria from growing.
The danger of cross contamination arises when food to be served raw, such as lettuce or cheese, is prepared with the same equipment as raw meats. For example, a knife used to trim steaks has the potential to pass bacteria onto any other foods it touches, including salad vegetables. Bacteria passed from a contaminated knife onto a head of lettuce can grow quickly at room temperature.
AHS therefore advises that cooks and consumers should assume that all raw meats carry some form of pathogenic bacteria and handle them accordingly.
Hofer pointed out that, of more than 100 samples tested at Pine Haven, E. coli was found only on raw meat and not on cooked products.
Details of the investigation and tips for cooks can be found on the Alberta Health Services website, www.albertahealthservices.ca
Meet Tim Hofer online at www.phmeatshop.ca •
— By Brenda Kossowan
