EDMONTON, Alberta – A Canadian provincial court fined a former Cargill employee for allegedly falsifying wastewater samples at the company's High River beef processing plant in Alberta.

Pushp Pal Singh of Calgary was fined C$7,500 for tampering with wastewater samples between February 2012 and March 2012.


"An agreed statement of facts indicates that Singh, an employee of Cargill at the time of the offenses, tampered with three composite treated wastewater samples containing phosphorus by adding a substance to the samples, which had the effect of reducing the amount of phosphorus before the samples were sent to an external laboratory for analysis," according to Alberta's provincial court.

In April 2012, Cargill initiated an internal investigation and self-reported the findings in March 2012 to Alberta provincial officials. The company was fined $80,000 earlier this year for not immediately reporting the incidents.

After the incident, Cargill implemented corrective actions at the plant. There is no evidence that any environmental harm occurred as a result of wastewater that contained levels of phosphorous above approved levels, the court noted.

“Throughout this process, Cargill cooperated fully with government officials,” the company said in a statement. “Cargill does not condone actions such as those taken by the former employee involved who falsified test results. Cargill continually strives to protect its environment. Recently, our High River plant underwent a $36 million investment in equipment and proven technology that converts Specified Risk Materials into energy; making Cargill’s High River plant one of the most sustainable and environmentally friendly beef processing plants in the world.”