Break Up CFIA, Food Safety Expert Urges

(Sarah Schmidt — Canwest News/Ottawa Citizen)

Professor says agency failing Canadians

The federal government should establish an independent food safety agency reporting directly to Parliament because the Canadian Food Inspection Agency is failing consumers, a leading food-safety expert on Monday told parliamentarians probing the listeriosis outbreak.

Sylvain Charlebois, co-author of the 2008 Food Safety Performance World Ranking and business professor at the University of Regina, blasted the CFIA's “dual mandate” of protecting the public and assessing risk within the agri-food industry.

“The CFIA is inherently hardwired to assess risks and contain threats,” Charlebois told the special hearings, saying a reconfigured CFIA should stick to working with industry to promote international trade. Read more here.