Calls for Food Safety Regulation Overhaul

Extra food safety regulations could be introduced in Canada as pressure increases to tackle the problems associated with tainted food after 20 people died in a listeriosis outbreak.

The Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada union said that it is launching a campaign to defend Public Science “in the wake of the listeriosis tragedy” that was linked to contamination at the Maple Leaf Foods Toronto processing plant.

Meanwhile Business Monitor International’s Canada Food and Drink Report Q4 2008 report said that the incident could have “wider repercussions for the entire food and drink industry, with politicians and the media calling for a complete overhaul of Canada’s food safety regulations”.

The union says Canada is facing a continuing crisis with tainted foods and unsafe products, which it in part blames on a lack of resources for independent regulators and for food inspection programs.

Its new national advertising campaign highlights the “harm deregulation and underfunding are doing to public scientists’ ability to protect Canadians”.

Michèle Demers, president of the union, said: “Listeriosis is only the tip of the iceberg of the dangers deregulation is opening up in this country.

“By eliminating rules and handing responsibility for safety to industry in sectors like transportation, food and consumer products, the federal government is playing fast and loose with Canadians health and safety.”

Source: FoodNavigator-USA.com