Food Inspectors Union Warns Consumers That Federal Budget Cuts May Reduce Canadian Food Inspection Agency examination of Imports to Below 2%; May Cut Other Food Safety Inspection As Well

Food Safety Staffing Could Drop to Pre-Maple Leaf Foods Listeriosis Crisis Level

VANCOUVER, Feb. 28, 2012 /CNW/ – The union representing federal food safety inspectors is warning consumers that significant cuts to the public service expected in next month’s budget may reduce the inspection of imported foods to less than two per cent of all products examined by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.

And the Agriculture Union, a component of the Public Service Alliance of Canada, says a planned Conservative government cut of 10% of all ministries could also reduce the number of food safety staff to levels lower than when the Maple Leaf Foods listeriosis crisis hit in 2008, killing 23 consumers and making hundreds seriously ill.

PSAC says dramatic reductions to food inspection is just one of hundreds of needed public services that could suffer if Conservative budget cuts are imposed.

“Canadian consumers don’t know that the Canadian Food Inspection Agency today only inspects two per cent of all imports – and that percentage may drop even further if budget cuts of 10 per cent are imposed on CFIA,” said Agriculture Union President Bob Kingston.

“Ensuring that the food we eat is safe is one of the most important roles government workers have but the federal government seems ready to take risks with food safety,” Kingston said.

Bob Jackson, BC Regional Executive Vice-President of the PSAC, said there are literally thousands of different foods imported from dozens of countries around the world available to Canadian consumers but most are never inspected by CFIA before being sold.

“As consumers we can buy white asparagus from Peru, lettuce and tomatoes from Mexico, garlic and snow peas from China, spices from India, tilapia fish from Chile and prawns from Indonesia – but how do we know it’s all safe to eat?” Jackson asked.

“Can and should we trust that foreign countries have the high food safety standards Canadians expect and that they do proper inspections of everything they export?” he added.

Jackson said that already in February alone there have been nine “health hazard alerts” issued by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency involving food contaminated with listeria, e coli, salmonella or other bacteria, including several imported products.

And in December 2011, for example, fresh jalapeno peppers imported from the United States and sold in bulk unlabeled in Safeway, Real Canadian Superstore, Loblaws, Supervalu and other stores across western and northern Canada were voluntarily recalled due to salmonella contamination. http://www.inspection.gc.ca/english/corpaffr/recarapp/2011/20111220e.shtml

Jackson said according to the CFIA, 79% of food imports come from ten countries – the United States, Mexico, China, France, Italy, Brazil, Chile, Thailand, Australia and the United Kingdom.

Kingston said the Conservative government has ordered every ministry to prepare for a 10 per cent cut in the March budget. CFIA’s 2011-2012 Estimates Report on Plans and Priorities forecasts a cut to its Food Safety Program of $21.1 million and 207 fewer food safety staff – even though food safety represents less than half of overall spending by the CFIA and 46% of its total staff.

“Inspection staff at CFIA are already in short supply – cutting their budget at this time could mean greater food safety risks for Canadians,” Kingston said.

Jackson warned that food safety is not the only government program that could be seriously impacted in Finance Minister Jim Flaherty’s upcoming budget.

“From search and rescue, to fisheries and oceans, to administering Employment Insurance and other programs – Canadians expect government to deliver needed public services, not jeopardize them.” said Jackson.

“Food safety is a critical public service that is at risk in the upcoming budget and Canadians need to tell the government that reckless slashing will literally put lives in danger”, Jackson concluded.

Websites: www.foodsafetyfirst.ca www.psacbc.com www.agrunion.com

Contacts

Patrick Bragg
PSAC BC
at 604-430-5761 or cell 778-889-3486 or Bill Tieleman
West Star Communications
at 604-844-7827 or cell 778-896-0964.

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Food Safety Recall: Super C

Food Safety Recall: Super C (14000, boulevard Henri-Bourassa, Québec, QC) recalls semi-lean and lean ground beef (packaged 25 Februar 2012), because the products may contain particles of metal.

Food Safety Recall: Charcuterie La Tour Eiffel Inc.

Food Safety Recall: Charcuterie La Tour Eiffel Inc. recalls Chef Georges Maître Charcutier Homestyle Cooked Ham (approx. 2.7 kg; Codes 0281, 0282, 0283 and 0284), due to the presence of unspecific microbiological contamination. The recalled cooked ham was distributed in Quebec.

Listeria Contamination Found in Fish Products at Vancouver Stores

A new study has identified traces of the bacteria listeria in ready-to-eat fish products sold in Metro Vancouver.

 

Image via Wikipedia

University of British Columbia (UBC) food microbiologist and assistant professor at the Faculty of Land and Food Systems (LFS) Kevin Allen tested 40 ready-to-eat fish samples purchased from seven large chain stores and 10 small retailers. The products included lox, smoked tuna, candied salmon and fish jerky.

Allen and his team found listeria in 20 per cent of the ready-to-eat fish products, 5 per cent of which contained had the more virulent variety of Listeria monocytogenes.

The results were recently published in the journal Food Microbiology.

He warned that even though the levels of this bacterium, Listeria monocytogenes, in the ready-to-eat fish products met federal guidelines, it can multiply during handling and storage especially quickly as it approaches the end of shelf life.

“Additional handling of ready-to-eat foods in stores, such as slicing, weighing, and packaging, may increase the potential for cross-contamination,” explained Allen. “While listeria bacteria can be killed by high heat, most people eat these fish products without further cooking.”

He noted that pregnant women, the elderly and anyone with a compromised immune system should be cognizant of the health risks of eating these products, especially since food contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes may not look or smell spoiled.

Eating foods contaminated with levels of listeria monocytogenes that exceed federal guidelines of 100 listeria cells per g can cause symptoms such as diarrhea and vomiting. Listeriosis infection can also lead to brain and blood infections and is fatal in an estimated 20-40 per cent of cases.

Allen led the study with co-authors Lili Mesak, a UBC research assistant, and Jovana Kovačevic, an LFS food science graduate student.

The researchers also tested ready-to-eat meat products from the same Metro Vancouver retailers where they bought the fish, but these products — including bologna, corned beef, cooked ham and pepperoni — did not contain listeria.

In addition, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) this weekend issued a statement warning the public against consuming certain refrigerated cold smoked sockeye salmon trim products because they may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes. The items are being sold at retailers in Vancouver.

By Natalia Real
editorial@fis.com
www.fis.com

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Harper Government Improves Service Delivery for Consumers, Producers and all Businesses

OTTAWA, February 27, 2012: Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz announced today that the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) has launched a Statement of Rights and Service for Producers, Consumers and Other Stakeholders and six guides to inspection. The statement and guides will give consumers, producers and businesses an important tool in their interactions with the CFIA by outlining what the CFIA does, its service standards and what the sector can expect when dealing with the CFIA.

“The CFIA plays a vital role in keeping our food safe and our agriculture industry in a position to drive our economy and we know there is always room to improve,” said Minister Ritz. “We’re taking steps to strengthen communication and interaction between the Agency, consumers, producers, and the entire value chain so that we can all better work together to ensure safe food and a strong agriculture industry.”

Minister Ritz also announced the CFIA’s new Complaints and Appeals mechanism, which will provide businesses with a more transparent and accessible way to register complaints and appeals.

“This new mechanism complements CFIA processes already in place—by using a “single window” approach, it will provide a more transparent and accessible way for businesses to register complaints and appeals on CFIA’s decisions and service quality,” said Minister Ritz. “The statement, guides and complaints mechanism build a stronger foundation from which the CFIA, consumers, producers and all businesses can work together to improve Canada’s food, plant and animal safety.”

Six guides to inspection—designed for consumers, producers, processors, animal transporters, importers and exporters have been developed to accompany the statement. The guides outline CFIA’s roles and responsibilities and what businesses can expect when interacting with the CFIA. These new tools have been developed in partnership with the sector, including the Canadian Federation of Independent Business who played a leading role in making sure these documents help businesses better understand their own role and responsibilities as well as what service standards they should expect from CFIA.

The statement and guides also reference the CFIA’s expectations of regulated parties as outlined in its brochure entitled The Canadian Food Inspection Agency and Its Regulated Parties, Stakeholders and Partners: An Ethical Relationship.

The Statement of Rights and Service and guides to inspection are available on the CFIA website.

Statement of Rights and Service for Producers, Consumers and Other Stakeholders

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) has developed a Statement of Rights and Service for Producers, Consumers and Other Stakeholders, as well as six accompanying guides to inspection (for producers, consumers, processors, animal transporters, importers and exporters).

The objective of the statement and its guides is to offer stakeholders and CFIA staff a clear, plain language explanation of the CFIA’s commitment to

• transparent decision making;
• accessible and timely information;
• fair, respectful and unbiased interactions with stakeholders; and
• responsiveness and continuous improvement.

In addition, the statement and guides will

• allow stakeholders to become more familiar with the CFIA’s roles and responsibilities
• clarify what stakeholders can expect when dealing with the CFIA
• reference the CFIA’s expectations of regulated parties as outlined in its brochure entitled The Canadian Food Inspection Agency and Its Regulated Parties, Stakeholders and Partners: An Ethical Relationship

Stakeholders are encouraged to familiarize themselves with the statement and guides, which will be useful when interacting with the CFIA:

• Statement of Rights and Service for Producers, Consumers and Other Stakeholders
• A Producer’s Guide to Inspection
• A Consumer’s Guide to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency
• A Processor’s Guide to Inspection
• An Animal Transporter’s Guide to Inspection
• An Importer’s Guide to Inspection
• An Exporter’s Guide to Inspection
• Questions and Answers
• Backgrounder

Complaints and Appeals Process

The CFIA is also launching a new Complaints and Appeals process that will provide a more transparent and accessible way for stakeholders to register complaints and appeals related to quality of service, administrative errors and regulatory decisions. This “single window” approach will complement CFIA processes already in place by allowing regulatory decisions and service quality issues to be more thoroughly addressed. The Office of Complaints and Appeals will be operational April 1, 2012.

Decrease Inspection Frequency and See What Happens: A Case for 3rd Party Food Safety Certification

This is what is happening in Dallas, Texas.  With budget cuts coming to the CFIA, it is most likely the expected outcome here in Canada as well.  One of the best solutions is to involve third party, HACCP-Based Food Safety System Certification from HACCPCanada to give the public assurance of a confident dining experience.

Hundreds of Dallas restaurants not inspected in years; broken system leaves food safety gap

Posted on February 28, 2012 by foodsafeguru

by Doug Powell

An NBC 5 investigation finds that more than 200 Dallas restaurants have not been inspected in at least two years.

The city of Dallas has been scrambling to inspect hundreds of restaurants because of an NBC 5 investigation.

NBC 5 discovered that the city’s inspection system has broken down so badly that some restaurants haven’t been checked in years — not even once.

Wherever you eat, you never know what’s happening in the kitchen. That’s why cities have inspectors — to check for things that could make you sick.

Or at least that’s what we thought they were doing, until NBC 5 started asking questions and digging through city records.

Our investigation turned up a list of 241 restaurants the city of Dallas hasn’t checked since at least 2009.

NBC 5 followed health inspectors to one of those restaurants, a diner that hadn’t been checked in so long that the owner wondered if the city was ever coming back.

The people in charge of city inspections didn’t know so many were so overdue until NBC 5 pointed it out.

Peter Snyder, an expert in food safety with more than 40 years of experience in the restaurant industry, said what happens in Dallas is typical of many big cities he sees around the country (like Houston, which called on Pete’s expertise a few months ago). Cities have cut back on inspectors and are not able to keep up with the workload, and restaurant customers can end up paying the price.

“You can have massive foodborne outbreaks — which we’re having these days where somebody forgets to wash their hands, and you get hepatitis A in the salsa, and 60 people get sick,” Snyder said.

Two years ago, Dallas had 23 restaurant inspectors.

But the city cut five positions, and then five more inspectors left in the last year and a half. They’ve never been replaced.

Today Dallas has 13 people to inspect more than 6,000 restaurants.

Tracey Evers, president of the Greater Dallas Restaurant Association said, “There’s nothing that replaces that one-on-one interaction with the health inspector and the restaurant.”

In Fort Worth, NBC 5′s investigation also found restaurants that haven’t been checked in a long time.

NBC 5′s questions sent the city scrambling to inspect a list of about 50 restaurants it hadn’t visited in at least two years.

And when the inspectors finally went into some of those kitchens, records show they found critical health violations such as no paper towels in the restroom, broken refrigerator thermometers and workers who didn’t have proper training to handle food.

“Certainly we’d like to have more frequent contact and be able to go to these establishments on a more regular basis,” said Scott Hanlan, of Fort Worth’s Code Compliance Division.

It now has 13 people inspecting 2,100 restaurants. But the same inspectors are also responsible for checking things such as swimming pools, food trucks and large special events that serve food.

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CFIA EXPANDED HEALTH HAZARD ALERT: Certain COUNTRY MORNING brand beef burger product may contain E. coli O157:H7 bacteria

Related alerts: 2012-02-25 | 2012-02-24 | 2012-02-22 | 2012-02-18

OTTAWA, February 25, 2012 – The public warning issued on February 24, 2012 has been expanded to include an additional product and distribution information.

The affected product, Country Morning brand Beef Burgers, is sold frozen, in a 2.27 kgpackage bearing the UPC 057316 086624 and one of the following codes: 12861 EST761, 22861 EST 761, 32861 EST 761 or 42861 EST 761.

The Country Morning Beef Burgers product has been distributed to Co-op and TGP grocery stores in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Northwest Territories, Yukon and Nunavut.

There has been one reported illness associated with the consumption of this product.

Food contaminated with E. coli O157:H7 may not look or smell spoiled. Consumption of food contaminated with these bacteria may cause serious and potentially life-threatening illnesses. Symptoms include severe abdominal pain and bloody diarrhoea. Some people may have seizures or strokes and some may need blood transfusions and kidney dialysis. Others may live with permanent kidney damage. In severe cases of illness, people may die.

The manufacturer, New Food Classics, 1122 International Blvd, Suite 601, Burlington, Ontario is voluntarily recalling the affected product from the marketplace.  The CFIA is monitoring the effectiveness of the recall.

For more information, consumers and industry can call one of the following numbers:

New Food Classics at 1-289-398-2009 during business hours, and at 1-647-627-8761 after hours.

CFIA at 1-800-442-2342 / TTY 1-800-465-7735 (8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Eastern time, Monday to Friday).

For information on E. coli O157:H7, visit the Food Facts web page at:http://www.inspection.gc.ca/english/fssa/concen/cause/ecolie.shtml

For information on all food recalls, visit the CFIA‘s Food Recall Report at:http://active.inspection.gc.ca/eng/corp/recarapp_dbe.asp.

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CFIA HEALTH HAZARD ALERT: Certain refrigerated cold smoked sockeye salmon trim products may contain Listeria monocytogenes

Image via Wikipedia

OTTAWA, February 25, 2012 – The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) is warning the public not to consume the refrigerated cold smoked sockeye salmon trim products described below because the products may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes.

The following products, sold refrigerated at various weights from February 16 to February 24 inclusively, are affected by this alert:

Product	Store	UPC	Packed On Date	Sell By Date
Salmon Lox Trim Classic	Whole Foods Market at 925 Main Street, West Vancouver, BC	Begins with 0297629	2012.02.17 2012.02.18 2012.02.19	2012.02.27 2012.02.28 2012.02.29
Salmon Lox Trim Classic	Whole Foods Market at 510W. 8th Ave., Vancouver, BC	Begins with 0297629	2012.02.18 2012.02.19	2012.02.28 2012.02.29 2012.03.01 2012.03.02
Lox Trim	The Salmon Shop at #112 – 1689 Johnston Street, Vancouver, BC	Begins with 203780	FE 17 FE 18 FE 19 FE 20 FE 21 FE 22	None
Sold unlabelled	The Daily Catch Seafood Company at 1418 Commercial Drive, Vancouver, BC	Not applicable	Not applicable	Not applicable

The affected products may have also been sold unlabelled over the counter at the stores listed above. Consumers who are unsure whether they have the affected products are advised to check with their retailer.

There have been no reported illnesses associated with the consumption of these products.

Food contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes may not look or smell spoiled. Consumption of food contaminated with these bacteria may cause listeriosis, a foodborne illness. Listeriosis can cause high fever, severe headache, neck stiffness and nausea. Pregnant women, the elderly and people with weakened immune systems are particularly at risk. Infected pregnant women may experience only a mild, flu-like illness, however, infections during pregnancy can lead to premature delivery, infection of the newborn, or even stillbirth.

The retailers are voluntarily recalling the affected products from the marketplace. TheCFIA is monitoring the effectiveness of the recalls.

For more information consumers and industry can call the CFIA at 1-800-442-2342 /TTY 1-800-465-7735 (8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Eastern time, Monday to Friday).

For information on Listeria monocytogenes, visit the Food Facts web page at:http://www.inspection.gc.ca/english/fssa/concen/cause/listeriae.shtml.

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Toddler stricken with parasite

BY CHARLENE TEBBUTT, FOR THE STARPHOENIX

PRINCE ALBERT — Health officials in Prince Albert plan to meet with area day-care providers after a toddler became sick with the same parasites currently plaguing the city’s drinking water supply.

The toddler is the first to test positive for giardia since the parasites were found in the city’s drinking water earlier this month. The city has been under an emergency boil-water order since Feb. 7 after tests confirmed low levels of both giardia and cryptosporidium in the water.

The city had previously issued a boil-water advisory after a broken valve at the Prince Albert water treatment plant caused untreated river water to seep into the main waterline.

Dr. James Irvine, acting medical-health officer for the Prince Albert Parkland Health Region, said Friday that health officials cannot directly link the toddler’s illness to the city’s contaminated water. Still, health officials have talked with a day care the child attended to ensure proper sanitation procedures are being followed and plan to contact other day cares in the city as well.

Giardia is a common parasite in water, Irvine added, and can be found in lakes and rivers, or spread between individuals. It is also possible that some people who have giardia never feel any symptoms, he said.

“It is almost impossible to directly relate it to the water supply,” Irvine said Friday. “There are a variety of different risk factors … so, periodically finding a few cases, it’s not something that we would be concerned with the water supply.”

More than 140 tests have been completed since the boil-water order was issued. There were 120 positive tests for giardia across the province in 2011, Irvine said.

“If we’re doing lots of tests, we’re bound to find some giardia in there,” he said of the recent positive result. “So it’s not unexpected.”

Meanwhile, the city is continuing with a plan to clean local reservoirs and flush water lines. Divers are expected to begin cleaning the city’s two smaller reservoirs on Monday.

Results of testing done earlier this week show no parasites in the water, the city said.

The boil-water order has been causing headaches for local business owners who have been buying bottled water to insure their customers’ safety.

Public health officials visited local businesses to ensure their systems complied with health regulations soon after the order was issued.

David Culbert, the owner and manager at Chicken Chef in Prince Albert said his isn’t the only business that has had to stop providing fountain drinks due to contaminated water. Culbert has been providing canned drinks and bottled water to customers but said the additional stock is costing more.

Culbert says he has already spent several hundred dollars on bottled drinks while canisters of fountain pop sit unused.

“We can’t operate normally … it’s just a headache from a business standpoint,” he said.

“It’s not cost effective by any means.”

Dental offices in the city have also been affected by the boil-water order. Dr. Roger Spink with the East Side Dental Centre, said the office was closed for a day and a half following the boil-water order while dental units were switched to a bottled-water system. Spink estimates the work cost between $1,000 and $2,000.

The dental office has been using several five-gallon bottles of water per week, he said.

“It was just going to be much more economical to change over to bottled water than to close,” Spink added.

The Prince Albert Parkland Health Region has spent more than $10,000 on bottled water since the order was issued, said communications officer Doug Dahl. Health officials say children, seniors or those with compromised immune systems are most at risk of getting sick from contaminated water.

The region has purchased about 400 five-gallon jugs of water, 20 dispensers and more than 11,400 individual bottles of water for patients at the Victoria Hospital and other local health facilities, he said.

The region is also installing a $5,000 multi-barrier filtration system.

The new system will allow the region to use city water for cooking and drinks, Dahl added.

© Copyright (c) The StarPhoenix

Read more: http://www.thestarphoenix.com/business/Toddler+stricken+with+parasite/6207314/story.html#ixzz1nXZNuW2Q

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CFIA: Salmon Disease Surveillance in British Columbia

February 24, 2012, Ottawa: The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) is seeking comments on a disease surveillance plan for salmon in British Columbia.

The aim of the surveillance is to get a comprehensive picture of the health status of salmon in British Columbia. Fish will be tested for three diseases: infectious haematopoietic necrosis, infectious pancreatic necrosis and infectious salmon anaemia.

The CFIA will lead the surveillance with support from Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO), the Province of British Columbia and industry. All testing, as well as any activities undertaken to respond to confirmed cases of disease, will be directed by science, international guidelines and national aquatic animal health requirements.

Approximately 5000 wild salmon will be collected per year for a minimum of two years, starting in the spring of 2012. In addition, the CFIA will evaluate ongoing, industry-led testing of farmed salmon.

The design of the proposed surveillance plan was based on internationally accepted surveillance principles and developed by the CFIA in consultation with DFO, the Province of BC and the U.S. Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service. A summary of the initiative is available on the CFIA web site at www.inspection.gc.ca/aquatic.

To request a copy of the detailed draft surveillance initiative, or to submit comments, contact NAAHPPNSAA@inspection.gc.ca. Comments will be accepted until March 16, 2012.

For more information on salmon diseases, visit www.inspection.gc.ca/aquatic or call 1-800-442-2342.

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