Calgary health inspectors seize meat

January 26, 2005
Globe and Mail/Calgary Herald/CP

Calgary - Food safety officials have, according to these stories, seized 2,000 kilograms of uninspected beef from a private home, including hamburger bound for a commercial operation.

Floyd Mullaney of Alberta Agriculture's food safety division was cited as saying that beef was being processed in a two-car garage behind a Calgary home in a residential neighbourhood, and that investigators stopped a person leaving the house on Jan. 20 with 20 kilograms of hamburger, adding, "That meat was destined for a restaurant, a place where meat could be sold, a commercial outlet. It never got into the hands of that outlet."

The food outlet was not identified, but Mr. Mullaney was further cited as saying it was not a chain restaurant and that much of the meat that inspectors seized and destroyed had already been sold. He could not say if it was bound for retail or home consumption.

The stories explain that it's illegal to sell uninspected meat to the general public, and restaurants can't sell meat that hasn't been processed at a licensed facility. Investigators heard reports of an unlicensed butcher shop several months ago, but only had the operation under surveillance for about a week before moving in last Thursday, Mr.Mullaney said.

The meat is believed to have come from young cattle under 30 months slaughtered outside the city. It was then apparently brought to the home in northeast Calgary to be butchered and processed. Mr. Mullaney was further cited as saying investigators believe the animals came from feedlots and cow-calf operations and that he does not believe the mad-cow crisis was a factor.

Spokeswoman Cindy McCreath was quoted as saying, "The Canadian Cattlemen's Association urges producers to follow all the regulations that are in place in terms of inspection and marketing regulations that assure consumers of a safe and healthy product."

Mr. Mullaney was cited as noting that licensed abattoirs in Alberta are inspected daily and must meet stringent sanitary conditions and that those weren't in place in the garage, adding, "I wouldn't even consider buying a piece of meat out of that facility - not to feed to myself or my family."

John Pelton, director of environmental health for the CHR, was quoted as saying Wednesday, "The operation has been completely shut down. The meat has been taken away and destroyed."

The stories say that the man under investigation, Otto Huttman, was acquitted in 1996 of selling uninspected meat out of a garage when provincial court Judge Alan Fradsham refused to admit the evidence collected by meat inspectors.

The health region is also investigating whether the retailers that purchased the meat were aware it had not been inspected according to provincial regulations, said Pelton.

Pelton added it is "a possibility" that retailers who purchased the meat for the purpose of selling it to the public could also face charges.

He was uncertain on Wednesday how much of the uninspected meat made its way into the community.

Stath Lapointe, 30, who has lived on Marcombe Drive for more than 20 years, was cited as saying her neighbour has lived in the same house operating a meat shop from his garage as long as she can remember, adding, "We didn't know it was illegal. That's very disconcerting."