FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Ottawa – The Canadian Food Inspection Agency’s report on lessons learned from last summer’s listeriosis outbreak is disappointing in that it ignores the root cause of the outbreak, according to the food inspectors union.

“This report is blind to the inspector shortage that is making it impossible for CFIA to properly do its job of safeguarding the food Canadian eat,” says Bob Kingston, President of the Agriculture Union – PSAC.

“They didn’t bother mentioning that the inspector responsible for the contaminated Maple Leaf plant also had responsibility for six other facilities. Nor does the report discuss that CFIA had banned overtime and thus prevented key sanitation verification tasks from being completed at the Bartor Rd. plant as well as other failures to ensure Maple Leaf and other meat production companies are in compliance with safety rules,” Kingston said.

“The CFIA simply doesn’t have the capacity to do its job properly,” said Kingston.

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For information: Jim Thompson 613-447-9592