JBS acquisition of XL Foods moves ahead

Saturday, January 12, 2013

by SUSAN MANN

The Canadian subsidiary of JBS U.S.A. is set to complete buying some of the assets of beef processor XL Foods Inc. next week.

When it completes the deal on Monday, JBS Foods Canada, Inc. will acquire XL Foods’ Canadian properties in Alberta, including a beef packing plant in Calgary, the processing plant in Brooks, a feedlot and the farmland adjacent to the feedlot.

Three months ago, JBS U.S.A. took over management of the XL Foods beef processing facility in Brooks, Alberta during the largest meat recall in Canadian history due to beef contamination by E. coli. At one point during the almost two-month long recall, the XL Foods plant in Brooks was shut down by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency for almost a month. There were 18 confirmed cases of people getting sick after consuming meat contaminated by E. coli linked to the XL Foods facility.

In addition to the Canadian purchase, JBS U.S.A. has the exclusive option to buy the American operations of XL Foods. JBS U.S.A. is a wholly owned subsidiary of global protein giant JBS S.A.

Canadian Cattlemen’s Association president Martin Unrau says in a press release the announcement is good news for beef farmers. It gives them certainty the facility will remain viable well into the future. The Brooks plant is one of Canada’s largest beef processing plants with the capacity to process 4,000 head a day.

“JBS has done a great job in managing the plant and helping it to reach its full potential,” he says. BF