Cargill canola meal eyed after salmonella test

SASKATOON, Saskatchewan, June 16 (Reuters) - Cargill [CARG.UL] faces higher scrutiny in shipping Canadian canola meal into the United States after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration found salmonella in a shipment this winter, an FDA document shows.

Cargill's Clavet, Saskatchewan plant crushed the contaminated canola meal, according to an FDA import refusal report. The FDA couldn't immediately say when the contaminated shipment was detected at the U.S.-Canada border, but the report dates Cargill's import alert status as March 11.

Import alert status signals to inspectors that the FDA has enough evidence to warrant refusing admission to the U.S. without physical inspection of the goods.

Companies under import alert status must provide results of third-party lab tests proving the products are free of salmonella with its shipments to the United States, said FDA spokeswoman Rita Chappelle.

Cargill spokesman Robert Meijer said salmonella concerns are an industry issue, not one limited to the company.

"As an industry, we are working with FDA to resolve their concerns," he said in an email.

Cargill is one of at least two Canadian canola crushers facing U.S. border restrictions because of salmonella. Two rail car shipments of canola meal from Bunge Ltd (BG.N)'s Canadian crushing plants tested positive in May for salmonella.

Canola, a variant of rapeseed is crushed for its oil, creating a meal byproduct used as animal feed.

(Reporting by Rod Nickel)