Beef producers plan to ramp up campaign

Producers are ramping up an advertising campaign toremind consumers about the value of Alberta beef and counteract possible sales losses in the wake of E.coli contamination at the XL Foods plant in Brooks.

Alberta Beef Producers acknowleges the industry is feeling an impact, even though consumers are still buying beef.

"When we have a small slip like this in our system, which is very devastating to us, it certainly has an effect through the entire system," said Doug Sawyer, chairman of Alberta Beef Producers.

A billboard campaign will be rolled out over the next couple of weeks. But it will take hard work from XL Foods and retailers to restore consumer confidence, some experts say.

"It has hurt, when we've had major recalls before that have had to do with food or anything to do with safety, it has always hit the company's bottom line, the demand has always gone down," said Debi Andrus, an assistant professor of marketing at the University of Calgary.

The national marketing organization representing Canadian beef producers says the financial impact of the E.coli outbreak won't be known for at least six months.