JBS USA, a wholly owned subsidiary of Brazilian meat giant JBS S.A, in April acquired certain U.S. operations of XL Foods, a huge Canadian-based beef processor that was crippled by an E. coli outbreak last year.
JBS USA took over a beef packing plant in Omaha, Neb., with capacity to process 1,100 head of cattle per day. It also acquired a beef packing plant in Nampa, Idaho, with a capacity of another 1,100 head of cattle per day, although that one is idle and the new owner has no immediate plans to reopen it.
On Jan. 14, JBS acquired some Canadian operations of XL Foods in the province of Alberta. Those included a beef packing plant, a feedlot and some adjacent farmland in Brooks and a beef packing plant in Calgary. The Brooks plant was the source of an E. coli outbreak last September that resulted in a huge recall of beef products.
