Canada's largest beef recall isn't tainting business for local butcher shops, although beef producers say a shortage is looming.
In the wake of the massive recall – recently expanded to include more than 1,500 products sold at major grocers in Canada and the United States – local butcher shops have managed to increase sales and grow their clientele.
"It's a good story out of something that's terrible because we've been very busy here," said Kyle Iseke, owner of D'Arcy's Meat Market in Campbell Business Park. "We're working a lot of extra hours before we open and after we close to try to produce enough meat for the extra customers that are coming in."
He said roughly every third customer walking in the door asks about the recall.
Edmonton's XL Foods had its Brooks, Alta. packing plant shut down by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency at the end of September after products tested positive for E. coli earlier in the month.
The provincial health authority has since confirmed five cases of E. coli, while nearly 20 additional cases are under investigation across the prairies.
"They grind non-stop — 24 hours a day, seven days a week. It's a lot harder for them to stop and clean up," Iseke said. "Clean up and sanitation is way more manageable in a tiny shop."
He stressed that consumers should be mindful where their food comes from, adding shopping local has many benefits. He also cautioned consumers that people often get what they pay for.
"You buy cheap, you get E. coli. You buy expensive stuff and it's sustainable, it's healthier, it tastes better, it's leaner, it has less fillers (and) it has less preservatives," he said. "If everything ends up just going to big companies … you're at the mercy of a handful of people's mistakes."
D'Arcy's Meat Market is regulated by Alberta Health Services and employees must take food safety and food handling courses. Government inspectors conduct periodic random inspections of the facility.
Long term
Although business has grown in recent weeks in response to the recall, Iseke said there could be a downside.
He said he expects beef prices to rise in coming weeks as local suppliers struggle to meet the demand.
"I'm concerned that, initially, it's going to be harder for me to maintain getting good meet at a good price," he said. "I may have to pay more, which in turn (means) I have to charge more."
He said some of his local beef suppliers have already told him that their supply is dwindling.
Terry Sheehan, president of the Alberta Organic Producers Association, said supply at his organic cattle farm northwest of Westlock is quickly disappearing.
"We've got so much demand for our beef that we're running out, basically," he said. "We're going to have people that we can't supply."
He said he is on the verge of running out of cattle and said a lot of local farmers are in a similar situation. Despite the decreased supply of beef, prices have remained unchanged.
Although Sheehan's sales have spiked as a result of the recall, he said the recall won't do anyone any good in the long run.
"I'm hoping (consumers) have confidence in the fact that this was a recall and they've probably recalled way more products than they had to, just to be on the safe side," he said. "I would be confident eating beef."
With beef products potentially becoming harder to come by, Iseke said people should be open to other options.
Choices aplenty
Alberta's beef-centric habits can sometimes blind consumers to the vast array of other meats on the butcher's block.
Although people are still buying beef – and in relatively large quantities – Iseke said they are also spending more on other quality products.
"There's tons of food that they can be having. There's lamb and goat and we've got wild boar here," he said. "People don't necessarily have to just eat beef."
A small percentage of consumers are swearing off beef for the time being, he said, adding they are instead opting for cuts of bison, elk, pork and chicken.
