A Montreal company processing maple-smoked ham for domestic and overseas retail and restaurant buyers has temporarily lost its federal operating license.
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency announced Wednesday it’s suspended the license for Salaison Levesque, which makes ready-to-eat private-label cooked and smoked hams, supplying retailers, foodservice clients and sugar shacks.
The HACCP-certified, USDA-approved plant was “failing to implement corrective measures required by regulation to ensure the safety of the meat products produced at the establishment,” CFIA said in a release.
Controls related to “pre-operational inspections” of sanitation procedures weren’t being implemented in the plant on a consistent basis, the agency said.
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No food recalls are associated with the suspension, which stays in place “until the necessary corrective actions have been implemented,” CFIA said.
Levesque, in business since 1966, says its products can be found in the meat departments of Canada’s major supermarket groups, and in the U.S. and South America.
The company, on its website, also says it’s “currently working on the implementation of new GFSI (Global Food Safety Initiative) quality standards that will exceed previous benchmarks.” — AGCanada.com Network
