Provincial and federal officials are seeking assurances from McCain Foods Canada as dwindling production and reduced shifts at its Borden Carleton facility have sparked worries about the future of the giant food processor in Prince Edward Island.
McCain Foods began slowing production and scaling back shifts earlier this year, prompting a high-level meeting that included Premier Robert Ghiz, federal Fisheries Minister Gail Shea and the P.E.I. Potato Board.
The officials claim that production is now at 40 per cent of the plant's capacity.
Ghiz took the concerns raised at the meeting to the company's president last week.
A McCain official said the recession has had an impact on exports and the volume of potatoes that it buys but that the company has no plans at the present to close any of its Canadian facilities, including the Borden Carleton plant.
McCain Foods Borden french fry plant