SAINT-HYACINTHE, QC, June 23 /CNW Telbec/ - Olymel l.p. management announces the resumption of operations at its hog slaughtering and cutting plant in Red Deer, Alberta. Operations were suspended on Monday due to investigation of an animal health issue requested and conducted by the Canadian Food Inspection (CFIA), in cooperation with the firm. All tests designed to determine whether hogs may have contracted foot-and-mouth disease following the detection of apparent lesions are negative, which has allowed the CFIA to lift the quarantine and all biosecurity measures and restrictions put in place at the Red Deer plant on Monday. This situation did not pose a risk to human health. In connection with this incident, neither Olymel nor its operations have been called into question and the firm's management and employees have followed all the Agency's instructions and given their full cooperation.
Delivery of animals and slaughtering and cutting operations at the Red Deer plant can thus be resumed. Meat products from the plant are in no way affected, and the CFIA has authorized distribution, which should thus not be disrupted or interrupted in any way that might affect customers.
Olymel's Red Deer facility employs over 1,300 persons and has a weekly slaughtering and deboning capacity of 45,000 hogs. Olymel assigns top priority to the biosecurity of its facilities, activities and products. The company maintains a high level of vigilance under CFIA supervision at all times to ensure that the safety of its products meets the highest industry standards.
About Olymel l.p.
Olymel l.p. is number one in Canada in the slaughtering, processing and distribution of pork and poultry meat products, and has facilities in Québec, Ontario and Alberta. The company employs more than 10,000 persons and exports nearly half its production, mainly to the United States, Japan and Australia, as well as some sixty other countries. Its annual sales are in excess of $2 billion, and it has a slaughtering and processing capacity of 160,000 hogs and 1.7 million poultry every week. The company markets its products mainly under the Olymel, Lafleur and Flamingo brands
For further information: Olymel l.p.: Richard Vigneault, Communications, (514) 497-1385, (450) 771-0400
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