Meat packers still refuse to hand over financial info
Web Posted May 11 2004 07:13 AM MDT

Calgary - Cargill and Lakeside Packers failed to meet the Monday deadline
to turn their financial records over to the agriculture committee examining
whether the meat packing industry profited from the mad cow crisis.

The two companies, and Levinoff Meats, had been found in contempt of
Parliament last Thursday, after missing two previous deadlines to supply
the requested information. Two other companies, XL Beef and Better Beef,
met the April 30 deadline.

MPs on the committee are weighing their next step with respect to Cargill,
which has a plant near High River, and Lakeside, which is located in
Brooks. It's been more than 90 years since a private company was found in
contempt of Parliament. The heads of the companies could face fines and
jail.

Cargill and Lakeside, both American owned, say they don't believe the
federal committee can keep their records confidential, and that they have
competitive concerns. The committee had said all the financial records
would only be seen by accountants, and not committee members themselves.

Representatives from Cargill Foods, Lakeside Packers and XL Foods, which
handle about 75 per cent of the country's beef, have already appeared
before the federal standing commitee on agriculture. They told MPs that
they don't know how much of the $800 million in mad cow assistance went to
their industry. That led the committee to subpoena their financial records.

Many have been questioning why farmers have been getting rock-bottom prices
for their cattle since a single case of BSE was found last May, while
consumers aren't paying substantially less for their beef at the grocery
store. That has led some to point a finger towards the meat-packing
industry.

Packing plants say their costs have risen because they must now pay to get
rid of animal parts, such as spinal cords, which are considered to pose a
higher risk of passing on BSE.

--- GoldED/W32 3.0.1