TORONTO (CP) — Connors Bros. Income Fund said Monday its Castleberry's Food Co. subsidiary is reopening its Georgia canned-chili factory, closed since July because of a botulism scare.
The plant will resume production Tuesday after the recall of all of the products from one of its canning lines due to apparent undercooking.
''We are pleased to have the Augusta factory up and running ahead of our projected schedule,'' stated Connors Bros. CEO Chris Lischewski.
The recall, estimated to cost US$35 million, forced Connors Bros. in August to suspend distributions to unitholders. The Toronto-headquartered trust, whose main business is canned fish under the Clover Leaf, Bumble Bee, Brunswick and store-label names, hopes to resume payouts after about six months.
''The thoroughness with which we completed the investigation into the possible contamination, as well as the steps we took to improve and upgrade our internal processes such that we could obtain U.S. Food and Drug Administration and U.S. Department of Agriculture approval to reopen the factory, illustrate the quality of our personnel and the commitment we have made to operate safe, wholesome and efficient food processing facilities,'' Lischewski said.
''We are pleased that we will begin shipments to customers of our canned meat and poultry products shortly, as our consumers are anxious to re-stock their pantries with the products they love.''