Grant Allows Southwestern Ontario Students to Enjoy More Local Food

This sounds like a brilliant plan…a return to the local source of foods.  But let’s not forget that they are sourcing to the second most susceptible class of consumers in Canada in terms of foodborne illness…our children.  Do they plan to have a Certified HACCP-Based Food Safety Plan?

FRIDAY, 20 JANUARY 2012 13:06

TORONTO — A campaign to provide Ontario students with locally grown food has received a grant under The Greenbelt Fund. The fund will provide a contribution to the Victorian Order of Nurses in southwestern Ontario, allowing the VON to create a farm-to-school scheme, placing emphasis on buying food locally, and teaching students the importance of local food. Speaking about the initiative, Burkhard Mausberg, CEO, Greenbelt Fund, says, “as a father, I’m pleased to see more Ontario food reaching our daycares and schools. The leadership taken by the Victorian Order of Nurses presents a model that can be replicated for other programs like this across the province.” The Greenbelt Fund is responsible for more Ontario food being served at hospitals, long-term care facilities, daycares, universities and colleges. The grants support 11 innovative projects adding to the more than two dozen projects already underway. Serving close to 500 student nutrition programs in the region, the injection of funds assists schools in procuring and serving local food to pupils. VON will develop a model to centralize purchasing and redistribute ready-to-serve meals to individual schools. An integral part of the program involves other institutions, such as the University of Western Ontario, to act as hubs to process and pack food for schools to collect. Ted McMeekin, minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, says the funding is innovative, “this type of innovative funding helps to bridge the gap between farmers and institutional consumers.” The Greenbelt Fund is a sister organization of the Friends of the Greenbelt Foundation, and operates under the Broader Public Sector Investment Fund: Promoting Ontario Food. Courtesy of foodserviceworld.com

Ireland Closes Record 64 Food Establishments in 2011

BY NEWS DESK | JAN 07, 2012
Documents obtained by the Irish Independent show that 2011 was the worst year for food safety at the retail level in Ireland since the current enforcement system went into effect in 1999.

The newspaper, using records obtained under the Irish Freedom of Information Act, reports that Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) last year closed a record 64 restaurants, pubs, and other retail food establishments because they poised a grave risk to public health.

The Independent said the documents revealed “gory details behind the closures.” For example, it said maggots and mold were behind the April closure of the butchery section of Cahill’s food store in Cork County. Inspectors closed the facility after maggots were found on meat debris under the cutting plate.

It has yet to re-open.

Pests were frequently a problem, including rat and mice infestations. Closure orders are typically lifted in Ireland as soon as the problems cited are addressed.

Two closures involved mixing staff accommodations with food businesses, including finding such personal items as hair brushes and razors in a kitchen where no shower or bathroom facilities existed, and filthy mattresses and personal toiletries in food store room.

© Food Safety News