Shaken by revelations from Duty as for the repeated breaches of health and animal welfare rules at the slaughterhouse B&B meats, butchers and breeders now fear for their reputation. The Ministry of Agriculture should have informed them of the failings that led to the filing of legal proceedings against the establishment, they argue.
“There is no place for cabochons in the industry,” says Jean-Sébastien Gascon, general director of the Quebec Feedlot Society, coldly. The one who runs Partenaires Boeuf Québec — a marketing program for beef raised in Quebec — recalls how “we work hard in the industry to establish consumer confidence.”
There is no place for cabochons in the industry
Mr. Gascon reacts strongly to the information contained in the hundreds of inspection reports from the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAPAQ) obtained by The duty. These detail repeated failures observed in 2022 and 2023 at the Marieville slaughterhouse. In less than two years, twenty lawsuits have been filed by the DPCP against the company.
Jean-Sébastien Gascon now fears the damage that repeated failures by a single establishment could cause to the sector. “In our industry, you have to be perfect 52 weeks a year. Take minced meat: you can’t afford a rough week in terms of quality,” he says. Quality and respect for animals are the pillars of meat marketing, according to him.
“It is absolutely necessary that people in the industry meet current standards. If they don’t respond or there isn’t a game plan to quickly make the necessary corrections, then you close the place. We don’t have the luxury of making mistakes,” he believes.
“We had to return a lot of products”
Many local butchers stopped getting their supplies from the Marieville slaughterhouse last year. This is the case of the Viandal butcher’s shop in Verdun, which was dissatisfied with what was delivered to it. The same goes for Ghislain Lauzon, owner of the Boucherie ô naturel de Bécancour. This cattle and sheep breeder, a former friend of Mr. Bouffard, questions the inaction of MAPAQ in the matter.
“If there is something wrong with the meat, we should know,” said Christos Christopoulos, CEO of Aliments Arès. This Montreal wholesaler — which distributes meat and seafood to thousands of restaurants, butcher shops and grocery stores across the province — does business with B & B meats.
Mr. Christopoulos was keen to point out that the products his company delivers are of excellent quality. “With this company, a couple of months ago, we had problems with products. We had to return a lot of products because they weren’t up to our standards. These were not products that we could sell,” he confides.
The recent departure of several local butchers has pushed B&B meats to intensify their efforts with halal butchers around Montreal. “For us, B&B meats are a very new and very small supplier,” recalls Moudia Amine, of the Al-Khair butcher chain. “We rarely ordered from them and, when we did, it was in very small quantities. »
Mme Amine regrets not having been informed by MAPAQ. “For us, if we have a warning from MAPAQ, don’t worry that it will become known,” she said, recalling that inspections of retail businesses are listed and quickly accessible to the public. “It should be the same for larger installations. »
Made aware of the lawsuits against B&B meats, Porcherie Ardennes and Porcmeilleur — both of which had their animals slaughtered at the Marieville facilities — cut ties with the slaughterhouse. Reputation is priceless, even if having your animals slaughtered further away will generate additional transport costs, they argue.
“A restaurant has a breach and it becomes public. It’s in the newspaper. Why a slaughterhouse, the one that supplies [la viande] full of businesses, we can’t know about it? » asks Pascal Viens, co-owner of Porcmeilleur. Customers of these facilities, who do not have access to what takes place inside an establishment, should be able to be informed of repeated violations observed, even if these do not necessarily result in fines, he believes.
MAPAQ refused to grant an interview to Duty, indicating not to comment on specific files. By email, the ministry also wanted to be reassuring by writing that “the majority of slaughtering or processing establishments comply with the regulatory framework”.
He would not say whether a compliance plan was required at Viandes B & B in recent months. “Several measures can be implemented in order to improve the compliance of a slaughterhouse or a processing workshop,” replied a spokesperson for the ministry, adding that the latter “intervenes with the operator” when Consumer health and safety are at risk.
And why doesn’t MAPAQ inform customers of slaughterhouses that have several violations? “In this type of situation, which sometimes involves legal proceedings, certain information must be protected to ensure the smooth running of these,” responded the ministry, specifying also publishing “in a transparent and proactive manner the convictions relating to the safety of food establishments”, when they are returned.