Alberta meat stores reopen after AHS re-examines product, declares it fit for sale

Businesses biting back over closures by AHS Businesses shuttered by Alberta Health Services are accusing the agency of damaging their reputations and costing them sales.

Two South Asian-owned meat stores and one restaurant in Calgary have reopened after being closed by Alberta Health Services (AHS) last week.

The stores were accused of selling uninspected meat -- a claim the owners denied, saying they produced all the paperwork required to prove their case.

Surinder Sandal, owner of Bombay Meat Masala and Samosa, says she provided AHS inspectors with all necessary receipts from a licensed supplier to prove her meat was safe and inspected.

Despite this, her store was closed on Thursday.

"I have all the documents. Every single document. They didn't believe me," Sandal said.

Less than 24 hours later, AHS inspectors returned and declared all of Sandal's meat was fit for consumption -- the same meat that had been deemed unsaleable on Thursday was deemed acceptable on Friday.

The sudden reversal has left the store owners frustrated.

"I don't know what people are thinking about us and our business," Sandal said.

"This weekend it was very slow -- you can call it dead."

Siddiqui Mohammed, owner of Bangla Bazar, faced a similar ordeal.

AHS inspectors claimed the stamps on his lamb shanks were blurry and as a result, determined the meat to be uninspected.

Mohammed provided his paperwork and receipts to prove his case but was still closed down.

"I think they (AHS) need to be very careful, otherwise my business of 24 years could be destroyed," Mohammed said

Like Sandal, Mohammed's store was reopened within 24 hours after AHS inspectors determined the meat was fine.

However, the negative publicity has taken a toll on his business.

"This is very unfair with me," Mohammed said.

"It's hurting my reputation, my business, my sales and my stress. I really had a very, very tough time (the) last couple of days."

Raj Sidhu, owner of Bikaneer Restaurant, also experienced a drop in business after AHS posted a closure notice for his store.

"How do I explain to everybody where this meat came from and we gave them all -- all supplier names and all the receipts and everything already," Sidhu said.

The inspection reports have since been removed from the AHS website.

The business owners are seeking a statement from AHS acknowledging the erroneous closures.

CTV News reached out to AHS for comment but did not receive a response before deadline.