Food Inspection System Needs Revamping, Says PM

(Winnipeg Free Press – Gregory Bonnell, The Canadian Press)

Canada’s listeriosis outbreak is a tragic example of why the food inspection system should be revamped, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said yesterday as he spoke publicly about the crisis for the first time, offering condolences to those whose loved ones have died or fallen ill.

In Ontario – home to all six deaths conclusively linked to the outbreak, and a province that’s no stranger to serious health crises – Health Minister David Caplan expressed concern about reports the federal Tories intend to allow the food industry to police itself.

The outbreak, which has been linked to meat products recalled by Maple Leaf Foods, shows why Ottawa needs to act, Harper said during a news conference in Ottawa. “This is a serious concern. That’s why I indicated ... that it’s necessary to reform and revamp our food and product inspection regimes.”

An additional nine deaths across Canada – six in Ontario and one each in B.C., Saskatchewan and Quebec – remain under investigation for possible links to the outbreak. Two new confirmed cases in Ontario and one more in Quebec have brought the total of known cases with a definitive link to the outbreak to 29.

Food tracking system

Health Minister Tony Clement, in Denver for the Democratic National Convention, said he has legislation before Parliament in the hopes of creating a national food tracking system. “We can track a given food source, a given food supply (and) if there’s a problem, find out quickly, deal with the problem and make sure Canadians are protected,” Clement told the CBC.

Caplan, Clement’s counterpart in Ontario, expressed concern over the Conservative government’s proposed reforms.

Ontario’s previous Conservative government, in which Clement was a cabinet minister, removed safety protocols from the province’s water inspection system – a move a judicial inquiry found contributed to the E. coli water crisis in Walkerton that killed seven people in May 2000.

“I want to make sure that we have the highest public safeguards and safety nets in place. That’s where my focus has been,” Caplan said. “I would be concerned about any proposal which might weaken Ontario and-or Canadian safety guidelines.”

A secret federal cabinet document leaked last month suggested the Tories intend to hand responsibility for inspections over to the food industry. The government has neither confirmed nor denied details of its planned changes.

More than 220 meat products have been recalled by Maple Leaf or companies that used recalled meat, including yesterday’s announcement of three additional brands of ready-made sandwiches sold in the Maritimes and Ontario. Maple Leaf initiated its recall after the Listeria bacterium was detected in some of the goods produced in one of its Toronto plants, but eventually ordered the recall of all products made at the facility as the outbreak escalated. Maple Leaf’s stock has taken a pounding as a result of the recall, which the company estimates will cost about $20 million – not including the potential impact on sales down the road.