Peanut Allergy Alert: Pea protein added to Maple Lodge Farms wiener products

Maple Lodge Farms Ltd. has recently announced the addition of a new ingredient, pea protein, to its popular wiener products distributed nationwide:

  • Maple Lodge Farms The Original Chicken Wieners 450g
  • Zabiha Halal Original Chicken Wieners 450g
  • Zabiha Halal Corn Dog 1kg

Some people with peanut allergy may have an allergic reaction to foods containing ingredients that come from peas, like pea protein or pea protein isolate. Please speak with your allergist about the safety of eating products containing pea protein if you have concerns.

For more details, please visit the official release from Food Allergy Canada here.

If you have further questions, please reach out to Maple Lodge Farms directly at  1-888-664-4444.

Maple Lodge Farms named Official Food Protein Partner in new multi-year deal

On November 22nd, 2022 Canada Soccer and the Canadian Premier League announced a new major partnership, making Maple Lodge Farms the Official Food Protein Partner of Canada Soccer’s National Teams and the country’s Tier 1 professional men’s soccer league.

“We’re incredibly excited to partner with Canada Soccer to support Canadian athletes from youth development to the highest levels of national and international competitions,” said Fred Marques, Chief Operating Officer at Maple Lodge Farms. “As a family-owned company and Canada’s largest independently owned poultry processor, we’re proud to help fuel Canada’s elite soccer players and their fans, just as we’ve helped fuel Canadian families with high-quality chicken products for over six decades.” 

The new partnership will see us engaging with families of all kinds throughout the Canadian soccer community, by supporting Canada Soccer’s Active Start Soccer Fests program and offering family photos at select CPL matches, as well as through contests and giveaways. Canadian soccer fans will also have a chance to sample our products on-site at select Canada Soccer and CPL matches.

“We are thrilled to be welcoming Maple Lodge Farms and appreciative of their support of our Canada Soccer National Teams and Active Start Soccer Fests program,” added Earl Cochrane, General Secretary, Canada Soccer. “As the leading grassroots and youth development soccer program in our country, Active Start Soccer Fests have connected with more than four million Canadians nationwide, and this investment is critical to continue building on our success at the community level and to support our future stars.” 

As the new presenting partner of the CPL Player of the Week, we will also play a role in highlighting and celebrating the best individual performances in the CPL on the league’s digital and social channels. CPL fans will also be celebrated by us as the presenting sponsor of the “ULTIMATE Fan” honour, a monthly recognition that highlights the most devoted fans of each CPL team.

“We can’t wait to celebrate the CPL’s ULTIMATE fans,” said Shalik Amanulla, Brand Manager at Maple Lodge Farms. “Our line of ULTIMATE products, including Chicken Sticks and Chicken Sausages – made with simple, real ingredients – are the perfect snack for fans to enjoy while cheering on Canadian soccer players across the country from stadium seats to backyard BBQ’s.”

Welcome to the Family, Canada Soccer!

 

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An update from Maple Lodge Farms regarding the ongoing COVID -19 Pandemic

Keeping our employees and communities safe and healthy remains our top priority. As the threat of the Coronavirus persists with the new Omicron variant, we continue to impress upon our employees the importance of carefully practicing all of the preventive measures put in place in our workplace, as well as following all public health measures outside of work.

We continue to encourage our employees to get vaccinated, as an additional proven measure to keep themselves, their co-workers, families and communities safe. In order to facilitate this, we will once again be holding onsite employee vaccination clinics at our Brampton and Mississauga plants and Distribution facility over the next couple of weeks.

We maintain comprehensive and audited infection control programs which include but are not limited to the following measures:

  • We have suspended all visitors to our facility outside of those deemed essential to the operation of our business for example, contractors and delivery drivers
  • We maintain a strict screening policy, ensuring only healthy people enter our workplace
  • We require all employees and essential visitors to wear masks at all times in all areas of our facilities
  • We conduct rapid antigen testing to detect asymptomatic individuals, as necessary
  • We have added temporary lunchroom spaces and equipped all common spaces with multiple, portable hand-washing and sanitization stations
  • We have imposed physical distancing measures in our common spaces including the installation of Plexiglas shields in between adjacent seating areas in our cafeteria
  • We have equipped all of our production employees with personal protective equipment over and above that which may be required in the course of their usual duties, including masks, face shields, aprons, and gloves
  • We have staggered our production shifts for better physical distancing
  • We have implemented precautionary and frequent deep cleaning initiatives and added ongoing cleaning rotations for frequently used areas/surfaces to our already rigorous sanitation procedures
  • We communicate openly and frequently with our employees through bulletins, letters and tv monitors in common spaces to keep them informed and provide them information on handwashing and other hygiene measures, as well as tips on how to stay safe outside of the workplace
  • We work closely with local Public Health Agencies and the Ministry of Labour to ensure our infection control measures are effective and up-to-date
  • We meet frequently with our onsite CFIA management team to share information and establish collaborative efforts to keep all of our employees safe
  • We work together with the rest of our industry to share knowledge and continuously improve best practices, as well as continue to consult with health experts and regulators to ensure that we are doing the best possible job in protecting our people and workplaces

We remain committed to ensuring our workplace is safe, and fulfilling the high consumer demand for healthy, safe, best-quality chicken.

An update from Maple Lodge Farms regarding the ongoing COVID -19 Pandemic

Keeping our employees and communities safe and healthy remains our top priority. Recently, Maple Lodge Farms (MLF) conducted onsite employee COVID-19 vaccination clinics at all 3 of our Peel region facilities, in collaboration with the Province and Peel Public Health.

Along with the Brampton Board of Trade, Food and Beverage Ontario, and several other large regional employers, MLF worked hard to advance the concept of employer-operated workplace vaccination clinics to promote employees’ vaccine participation by making vaccination easy and accessible. In total we vaccinated more than 1200 employees over 5 days. Additionally, MLF sponsored a community clinic, in collaboration with the Region of Peel, at the Malton Masjid, which ran for 8 days last month.

It is anticipated that second onsite employee vaccination clinics will be held within the next few weeks, in order to administer employees their second dose of vaccine.  MLF will fund the program, retain a third-party health care provider to deliver the vaccinations, and supply the volunteers to operate the clinic.

In the interim, as the threat of the virus persists, we continue to impress upon our employees the importance of carefully practicing all of the preventive measures put in place in our workplace, and following the advice of Public Health outside of work, in order to keep themselves safe.

Some of the infection control measures we have put in place in the workplace include the following:

  • We have suspended all visitors to our facility outside of those deemed essential to the operation of our business for example, contractors and delivery drivers
  • We maintain a strict screening policy, ensuring only healthy people enter our workplace
  • We require all employees and essential visitors to wear masks at all times in all areas of our facilities
  • We conduct random mass COVID-19 testing to detect asymptomatic spread, as necessary
  • We have added temporary lunchroom spaces and equipped all common spaces with multiple, portable hand-washing and sanitization stations
  • We have imposed physical distancing measures in our common spaces including the installation of Plexiglas shields in between adjacent seating areas in our cafeteria
  • We have equipped all of our production employees with personal protective equipment over and above that which may be required in the course of their usual duties, including masks, face shields, aprons, and gloves
  • We have staggered our production shifts for better physical distancing
  • We have implemented precautionary and frequent deep cleaning initiatives and added ongoing cleaning rotations for frequently used areas/surfaces to our already rigorous sanitation procedures
  • We communicate openly and frequently with our employees through bulletins, letters and tv monitors in common spaces to keep them informed and provide them information on handwashing and other hygiene measures, as well as tips on how to stay safe outside of the workplace
  • We work closely with local Public Health Agencies and the Ministry of Labour to ensure our infection control measures are effective and up-to-date
  • We meet weekly with our onsite CFIA management team to share information and establish collaborative efforts to keep all of our employees safe
  • We work together with the rest of our industry to share knowledge and develop best practices, and continue to consult with health experts and regulators to ensure that we are doing the best possible job in combating the spread of this disease

We remain committed to ensuring our workplace is safe and fulfilling the high consumer demand for healthy, safe, best-quality chicken.

Maple Lodge Farms Statement Regarding Employee Vaccination Clinics

Maple Lodge Farms (MLF) is pleased to announce that we will be conducting onsite employee vaccination clinics at all 3 of our Peel region facilities, in collaboration with the Province and Peel Public Health.

Along with the Brampton Board of Trade and Food and Beverage Ontario, MLF has been working to advance the concept of employer-operated workplace vaccination clinics to complement the Province’s “hotspot” strategy. Two weeks ago, the Province published criteria for workplaces wishing to apply for the pilot program. Having met the criteria, we subsequently submitted an onsite vaccination plan proposal that has since met the intense scrutiny of the Province and Peel Public Health making us a successful candidate for the pilot program.

The onsite employee vaccination clinics will be held over the next two weeks, starting with our Brampton site, with a “soft start” on Tuesday afternoon to ensure the clinic is running smoothly and then all day Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. We will run a concurrent clinic at out Mississauga Distribution Centre on Thursday and Friday, and next week, Wednesday to Friday, at our Mississauga plant. Vaccinations will be provided to all interested employees, aged 18 and over, who are required to work onsite to perform their jobs. MLF will fund the program, retain a third-party health care provider to deliver the vaccinations, and supply the volunteers to operate the clinic.

It is important to note that while we have actively pursued the ability to conduct on-site vaccination clinics to ensure access and ease of vaccination for our workers, we have also made it abundantly clear that it is a personal choice and have advised them to speak to their health care provider to ensure that they make the right decision for themselves and their families. So far, there has been very good response from employees with only about 15% of those eligible stating that they are not interested in receiving the vaccine.

In addition to the employee only clinics, Maple Lodge Farms will be sponsoring a pop-up vaccination clinic for the surrounding community at a time and location yet to be determined in consultation with Peel Public Health. Specific details will be shared with the Public once plans are finalized.

For further information, please visit the Region of Peel’s website.

Maple Lodge Farms Hosts Onsite Employee Vaccination Clinics

Maple Lodge Farms (MLF) is pleased to announce that we will be conducting onsite employee vaccination clinics at all 3 of our Peel region facilities, in collaboration with the Province and Peel Public Health.

Along with the Brampton Board of Trade and Food and Beverage Ontario, MLF has been working to advance the concept of employer-operated workplace vaccination clinics to complement the Province’s “hotspot” strategy. Last week, the Province published criteria for workplaces wishing to apply for the pilot program. Having met the criteria, we subsequently submitted an onsite vaccination plan proposal that has since met the intense scrutiny of the Province and Peel Public Health making us a successful candidate for the pilot program.

It is anticipated that the onsite employee vaccination clinics will be held over the next two weeks, starting with our Brampton site next week. Vaccinations will be provided to all interested employees, aged 18 and over, who are required to work onsite to perform their jobs. MLF will fund the program, retain a third-party health care provider to deliver the vaccinations, and supply the volunteers to operate the clinic.

Additionally, Maple Lodge Farms will be sponsoring a pop-up vaccination clinic for the surrounding community at a time and location yet to be determined in consultation with Peel Public Health. Specific details will be shared with the Public once plans are finalized.

For further information, please visit the Region of Peel’s website.

An update from Maple Lodge Farms regarding the ongoing COVID -19 Pandemic

As Canada faces the third wave of the pandemic, and new daily cases of COVID continue to surge, our workplaces remain significantly impacted with employee reported cases rising in step with community rates of infection.

Our Emergency Response Team continues to work tirelessly to conduct thorough risk assessments and contact tracing in collaboration with Public Health, and in accordance with our COVID-19 response plan, whenever we are notified of a positive employee case. We continue to communicate every case requiring contact tracing in our workplaces to employees, to keep them well-informed. Since the start of the pandemic, across our Ontario operations (6 facilities with approximately 2600 people in total) we have been notified of a total of 149 positive employee cases requiring contact tracing in our workplaces.

Despite implementing a stringent infection control program in our workplace, essential workers carry a disproportionate burden of risk.  In order to keep our society afloat, they must go to work every day to perform their duties, producing products and services essential to the health, nourishment, safety, security and economic well-being of Ontarions. Despite lockdowns or stay-at-home orders, they put their health, and indeed lives, at risk to ensure that the rest of society may continue to function. Showing gratitude to these workers is not enough. They need vaccines to ensure their safety while they do this essential work.

We have impressed upon our Provincial Government and local public health agencies that it is crucial that the Phase 2 roll-out plan be revised to prioritize the immediate vaccination of our essential workers. The ground has shifted since the roll-out plan was first established, with more transmissible and lethal variants now dominating and driving a third wave.

Maple Lodge Farms has submitted a proposal to the Province to conduct an onsite worker vaccination program. In order to improve participation rates and expedite the vaccination of essential workers, we must bring vaccinations to where essential workers are – their workplaces. Community and mobile sites are not the answer on their own, if we are to rapidly reduce the virus spread. Employer on-site vaccinations must be a key component of a multi-channel strategy required to effectively mitigate the third wave. We are pressing forward with our proposal in hope that our provincial and regional governments will recognize the benefits of onsite vaccination programs and expedite this initiative at various workplaces across Ontario.

In the interim, as the threat of the virus persists, we continue to impress upon our employees the importance of carefully practicing all of the preventive measures put in place in our workplace, and following the advice of Public Health outside of work, in order to keep themselves safe.

Some of the preventive measures we have put in place in the workplace include the following:

  • We have suspended all visitors to our facility outside of those deemed essential to the operation of our business for example, contractors and delivery drivers
  • We maintain a strict screening policy, ensuring only healthy people enter our workplace
  • We require all employees and essential visitors to wear masks at all times in all areas of our facilities
  • We have added temporary lunchroom spaces and equipped all common spaces with multiple, portable hand-washing and sanitization stations
  • We have imposed physical distancing measures in our common spaces including the installation of Plexiglas shields in between adjacent seating areas in our cafeteria
  • We have equipped all of our production employees with personal protective equipment over and above that which may be required in the course of their usual duties, including masks, face shields, aprons, and gloves
  • We have staggered our production shifts for better physical distancing
  • We have implemented precautionary and frequent deep cleaning initiatives and added ongoing cleaning rotations for frequently used areas/surfaces to our already rigorous sanitation procedures
  • We communicate openly and frequently with our employees through bulletins, letters and tv monitors in common spaces to keep them informed and provide them information on handwashing and other hygiene measures, as well as tips on how to stay safe outside of the workplace
  • We work closely with local Public Health Agencies and the Ministry of Labour to ensure our infection control measures are effective and up-to-date
  • We meet weekly with our onsite CFIA management team to share information and establish collaborative efforts to keep all of our employees safe
  • We work together with the rest of our industry to share knowledge and develop best practices, and continue to consult with health experts and regulators to ensure that we are doing the best possible job in combating the spread of this disease

We remain committed to ensuring our workplace is safe and fulfilling the high consumer demand for healthy, safe, best-quality chicken.

An update from Maple Lodge Farms regarding the ongoing COVID -19 Pandemic

It’s hard to believe that one year has passed since we issued our first employee COVID-19 communication; perhaps even more difficult to believe that since then, we have issued hundreds more. The pandemic has altered our lives and our business in ways we could never have imagined. It has posed great challenges and has resulted in deep loss. However, it has also brought about many good things, as our values have been put to the test. Over the past year, we have witnessed great acts of compassion and sacrifice, giving us the optimism and courage we need to face the ongoing disruption in our daily lives.

Despite the challenges posed by COVID-19 we have also made some incredible achievements this past year, chief among them, the extensive renovation of our Brampton plant to accommodate our newly commissioned tray-pack line. We also saw the launch of our ENGAGE platform to keep employees connected and involved, and made significant contributions in support of our local communities, including $250K to SickKids Hospital, and more than $900K to local foodbanks and frontline worker programs.

We are encouraged by the ramping up of the COVID-19 vaccine supply and distribution, however, as we anxiously await our turns to be vaccinated, and the threat of the virus persists, we must continue to carefully practice all of the preventive measures put in place in our workplace, and follow the advice of Public Health outside of work, in order to keep ourselves and each other safe.

Our Emergency Response Team continues to work tirelessly to conduct thorough risk assessments and contact tracing in collaboration with Public Health, and in accordance with our COVID-19 response plan, whenever we are notified of a positive employee case. We continue to communicate every case requiring contact tracing in our workplaces to employees, to keep them well-informed. Since the start of the pandemic, across our Ontario operations (6 facilities with approximately 2600 people in total) we have been notified of a total of 130 positive employee cases requiring contact tracing in our workplaces.

Some of the preventive measures we have put in place in the workplace include the following:

  • We have suspended all visitors to our facility outside of those deemed essential to the operation of our business for example, contractors and delivery drivers
  • We maintain a strict screening policy, ensuring only healthy people enter our workplace
  • We require all employees and essential visitors to wear masks at all times in all areas of our facilities
  • We have added temporary lunchroom spaces and equipped all common spaces with multiple, portable hand-washing and sanitization stations
  • We have imposed physical distancing measures in our common spaces including the installation of Plexiglas shields in between adjacent seating areas in our cafeteria
  • We have equipped all of our production employees with personal protective equipment over and above that which may be required in the course of their usual duties, including masks, face shields, aprons, and gloves
  • We have staggered our production shifts for better physical distancing
  • We have implemented precautionary and frequent deep cleaning initiatives and added ongoing cleaning rotations for frequently used areas/surfaces to our already rigorous sanitation procedures
  • We communicate openly and frequently with our employees through bulletins, letters and tv monitors in common spaces to keep them informed and provide them information on handwashing and other hygiene measures, as well as tips on how to stay safe outside of the workplace
  • We work closely with local Public Health Agencies and the Ministry of Labour to ensure our infection control measures are effective and up-to-date
  • We meet weekly with our onsite CFIA management team to share information and establish collaborative efforts to keep all of our employees safe
  • We work together with the rest of our industry to share knowledge and develop best practices, and continue to consult with health experts and regulators to ensure that we are doing the best possible job in combating the spread of this disease

We remain committed to ensuring our workplace is safe and fulfilling the high consumer demand for healthy, safe, best-quality chicken.

An update from Maple Lodge Farms regarding the ongoing COVID -19 Pandemic

With a stay-at-home order in place in much of Ontario, the average number of new daily cases of COVID-19 has shown a decline over the past couple of weeks. We are hopeful that this positive trend will continue.

Since the start of the pandemic, across our Ontario operations (6 facilities with approximately 2600 people in total) we have been notified of a total of 116 positive employee cases requiring contact tracing in our workplaces.

Our Emergency Response Team continues to work tirelessly to conduct thorough risk assessments and contact tracing in collaboration with Public Health, and in accordance with our COVID-19 response plan, whenever we are notified of a positive employee case. We continue to communicate every case requiring contact tracing in our workplaces to employees, to keep them well-informed.

Given the persistent threat of the virus, we continue to impress upon our employees the constant need to follow all preventive measures carefully, both inside and outside of the workplace, in order to protect their health.

Some of the preventive measures we have put in place in the workplace include the following:

  • We have suspended all visitors to our facility outside of those deemed essential to the operation of our business for example, contractors and delivery drivers
  • We maintain a strict screening policy, ensuring only healthy people enter our workplace
  • We require all employees and essential visitors to wear masks at all times in all areas of our facilities
  • We have added temporary lunchroom spaces and equipped all common spaces with multiple, portable hand-washing and sanitization stations
  • We have imposed physical distancing measures in our common spaces including the installation of Plexiglas shields in between adjacent seating areas in our cafeteria
  • We have equipped all of our production employees with personal protective equipment over and above that which may be required in the course of their usual duties, including masks, face shields, aprons, and gloves
  • We have staggered our production shifts for better physical distancing
  • We have implemented precautionary and frequent deep cleaning initiatives and added ongoing cleaning rotations for frequently used areas/surfaces to our already rigorous sanitation procedures
  • We communicate openly and frequently with our employees through bulletins, letters and tv monitors in common spaces to keep them informed and provide them information on handwashing and other hygiene measures, as well as tips on how to stay safe outside of the workplace
  • We work closely with local Public Health Agencies and the Ministry of Labour to ensure our infection control measures are effective and up-to-date
  • We meet weekly with our onsite CFIA management team to share information and establish collaborative efforts to keep all of our employees safe
  • We work together with the rest of our industry to share knowledge and develop best practices, and continue to consult with health experts and regulators to ensure that we are doing the best possible job in combating the spread of this disease

Although we are confident in the preventive measures we have put in place, we remain focused on continuous improvement, updating our policies, procedures and preventive measures, as knowledge and science evolves, in order to keep our employees, communities, suppliers and customers safe, and our business running. As an essential workplace, we are working hard to ensure that we can continue to keep food on the table of Canadians throughout these extraordinary times.

An update from Maple Lodge Farms regarding the ongoing COVID -19 Pandemic

As the resurgence of COVID-19 continues across Canada, our business continues to be challenged by the high infection rates in our communities.

Since the start of the pandemic, across our Ontario operations (approximately 2600 people), we have been notified of a total of 89 positive employee cases requiring contact tracing in our facilities; 21 since our last update on January 4, 2021, a rise commensurate with that encountered in our local communities.

Our Emergency Response Team continues to work tirelessly to conduct thorough risk assessments and contact tracing in collaboration with Public Health, and in accordance with our COVID-19 response plan, whenever we are notified of a positive employee case. We continue to communicate every case requiring contact tracing in our workplaces to employees, to keep them well-informed.

Given the persistent threat of the virus, we continue to impress upon our employees the constant need to follow all preventive measures carefully, both inside and outside of the workplace, in order to protect their health.

Some of the preventive measures we have put in place in the workplace include the following:

  • We have suspended all visitors to our facility outside of those deemed essential to the operation of our business for example, contractors and delivery drivers
  • We maintain a strict screening policy, ensuring only healthy people enter our workplace
  • We require all employees and essential visitors to wear masks at all times in all areas of our facilities
  • We have added temporary lunchroom spaces and equipped all common spaces with multiple, portable hand-washing and sanitization stations
  • We have imposed physical distancing measures in our common spaces including the installation of Plexiglas shields in between adjacent seating areas in our cafeteria
  • We have equipped all of our production employees with personal protective equipment over and above that which may be required in the course of their usual duties, including masks, face shields, aprons, and gloves
  • We have staggered our production shifts for better physical distancing
  • We have implemented precautionary and frequent deep cleaning initiatives and added ongoing cleaning rotations for frequently used areas/surfaces to our already rigorous sanitation procedures
  • We communicate openly and frequently with our employees through bulletins, letters and tv monitors in common spaces to keep them informed and provide them information on handwashing and other hygiene measures, as well as tips on how to stay safe outside of the workplace
  • We work closely with local Public Health Agencies and the Ministry of Labour to ensure our infection control measures are effective and up-to-date
  • We meet weekly with our onsite CFIA management team to share information and establish collaborative efforts to keep all of our employees safe
  • We work together with the rest of our industry to share knowledge and develop best practices, and continue to consult with health experts and regulators to ensure that we are doing the best possible job in combating the spread of this disease

Although we are confident in the preventive measures we have put in place, we remain focused on continuous improvement, updating our policies, procedures and preventive measures, as knowledge and science evolves, in order to keep our employees, communities, suppliers and customers safe, and our business running. As an essential workplace, we are working hard to ensure that we can continue to keep food on the table of Canadians throughout these extraordinary times.