Calgary halal grocers and wholesaler shut down by Alberta Health Services over sales of uninspected meat
CBC
Investigators with Alberta Health Services served closure orders on four halal grocery stores in Calgary on Friday, and another on a Calgary halal warehouse and distribution centre. The outlets are accused of purchasing and reselling uninspected meat to the public, which is against the law in Alberta.
Shawdesi Bazaar Foods and Catering, located in a strip mall east of Calgary International Airport, was ordered closed because "there is evidence that uninspected meat has been purchased and sold at this location," according to the closure order.
A message on the company's phone on Saturday said the business was closed for maintenance and would be back on Monday.
A review of AHS inspection reports shows repeat violations at Shawdesi Bazaar dating to 2021, including several instances of frozen food for which an original source cannot be found.
Bismillah Meat & Grocery in Calgary's northeast advertises a "large inventory of Pakistani grocery, halal meat, Islamic merchandise and international produce." It was also closed over the purchase and sale of uninspected meat, and according to the public health order will remain closed until it meets a long list of conditions, including proving to authorities that meat sold in the establishment comes from an approved source.
No one at Bismillah was answering the phone on Saturday. There are no notices on its Facebook page or website acknowledging the closure order.
Similar orders were also issued to Mustafa Madani Halal Meat and Groceries in Calgary's Castleridge neighbourhood, and Maher Halal Meat Butchery and Grocery in Southview. Maher was also cited for "a significant cockroach infestation. Live and dead cockroaches were observed throughout the food establishment."
Maher Halal Meat Butchery and Grocery has been cited four times for health violations since June 2021, including having food not labelled to indicate its sources and selling homemade food.
Cadalow Halal Meat, a wholesale distributor of halal products in Alberta, and its retail outlet Alta Halal were also closed for distributing uninspected meat.
A note on Alta Halal's Facebook page states that it is facing "Temporary closure due to pending City of Calgary paperwork."
None of the affected outlets responded to calls and emails from CBC News.
A spokesperson for Alberta Health Services said she could only confirm the closure orders and declined to answer a list of questions from CBC News.
Closing businesses over the purchase and distribution of uninspected meat is rarely done. Closing five outlets in a single day is unprecedented in Alberta.
Uninspected means officials cannot find a legitimate source for meat being sold to the public.
The federal government is stoking Quebec separatism by walking back its climate commitments — including in its recent deal with Alberta — Liberal MP and former cabinet minister Steven Guilbeault says.
Four more Alberta MLAs are facing recall petitions organized by their constituents, including the first NDP representative to be caught in the province's ongoing wave of recall efforts.
Frank Gehry, the Canadian-born renegade architect behind some of the world's most recognizable buildings, has died at 96.
Hundreds of P.E.I. parents can't find child-care spaces, especially for infants. The provincial government says expanding those spots remains a top priority — and it recognizes the concern.
An Alberta judge says a referendum proposal on Alberta separating from Canada goes against Charter and and Treaty rights, in a decision given less than 24 hours after the provincial government introduced legislation that would have ended the court proceeding.
The architect of Alberta's politician recall legislation says it was never meant to be used as a political weapon, but as an "ultimate tool of accountability" if a politician engages in illegal or unethical behaviour.
The Government of Saskatchewan has introduced its long-promised involuntary treatment legislation on the final day of the fall sitting.
The Law Society of Ontario has suspended the licence of Deepak Paradkar, one of seven Canadians arrested in connection with alleged drug lord Ryan Wedding’s cocaine smuggling ring.
London Health Sciences Centre (LHSC) is getting rid of unlimited mental health benefits for staff, blaming ballooning costs and former administrators for implementing it without proper due diligence or oversight.
Netflix has agreed to buy Warner Bros. Discovery's TV and film studios and streaming division for $72 billion US, a deal that would hand control of one of Hollywood's most prized and oldest assets to the streaming pioneer that has upended the media industry.
CBC Calgary kicks off its annual Make the Season Kind campaign this morning at Fratello Coffee Roasters.
CBC Newfoundland and Labrador is kicking off its annual holiday campaign, helping to raise money to support local food banks.
If all goes according to plan, at 6 a.m. AT on Saturday people working at the IWK Health Centre will become the test case for a generational change to Nova Scotia’s health-care system.