The blaze occurred at Bonduelle Canada's Ontario Tecumseh plant at approximately 2am on Friday. No injuries have been reported, and the cause is under investigation.
Ongoing investigation
In a statement to FoodProductionDaily, Bonduelle Canada reported company executives plan to meet with a number of parties (including government authorities, security agencies, and facility employees) to discuss the incident. Local authorities are carrying out an investigation.
Neither the cause of the fire nor the extent of the facility and equipment damage have been confirmed. However, Bonduelle Canada representatives have speculated an electrical malfunction is the likely culprit of the blaze.
Production halted
Production at the facility—which outputs more than 33,000 tons of frozen goods and 22,000 tons of canned foods—is currently on hold. Bonduelle Canada will announce plans for resuming production after the preliminary investigation has wrapped up.
Until the Bonduelle facility resumes processing and packaging operations, its 200 permanent employees and 450 seasonal employees will be in a holding pattern. Company executives report the vegetables processed and packaged at the facility come from approximately 110 local farming operations, who work about 17,297 acres of farmland for Bonduelle products coming out of the factory.