XL Foods' plant in Alberta, Canada, which was at the center of a national beef recall, has resumed operations under its new owner - JBS USA.
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) had suspended the license of the plant on 27 September over E.coli contamination. The plant recalled nearly 2,000 meat products across Canada and about 16 people were affected due to the contaminated products.
JBS USA announced on October 17 that it would take over the operations of the plant, following which, CFIA noted that the plant could resume operations under increased monitoring by inspectors.
JBS USA spokesman Cameron Bruett said nearly 650 workers were back at the plant and the slaughter operations have been initiated.
The remaining 2,200 employees will be back later this week, Bruett added.
The CFIA plans to boost the frequency of sampling, monitoring, and testing, to ensure that the plant is properly implementing the corrective actions to avoid E.coli contamination.
