Archive for March, 2010
Pasteurization makes meat safer, scientist says
Mar 18th, 2010
By Joanna Smith, Toronto Star
Ridding deli meats of harmful bacteria through pasteurization and other technological advances could help protect consumers while reducing the frequency of inspections, a food scientist says. [More...]
Deli meat OK for Canadians but off-limits to Americans
Mar 17th, 2010
By Sarah Schmidt, Canwest News Service
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency cut off access to American markets for the Toronto plant at the centre of an ongoing listeriosis investigation connected to tainted deli meats while allowing the company to continue to produce food for Canadians, Canwest News Service has learned. [More...]
Reality Check
Mar 17th, 2010
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
17 March, 2010
Ottawa — Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz’s appearance before the Agriculture Committee this afternoon will be an opportunity for the Minister to set the record straight on inspection of ready-to-eat meats produced for Canadian consumers.
On Monday, the Minister misinformed the House of Commons. He said that plants that make ready-to-eat meat exclusively [...]
Beef up number of food inspectors: Union
Mar 17th, 2010
By Bryn Weese, Toronto Sun
Canadian food inspectors are working overtime to meet American food safety standards, a move their union calls “unsustainable.” [More...]
Canadian meat inspection inadequate: USDA
Mar 15th, 2010
Minister Ritz has failed to deliver promised new investments for food safety
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
15 March, 2010
Ottawa – Canada has been quietly called out for inadequate inspection of meat processing plants by the US Food and Drug Administration which has demanded that Canada increase its inspection frequency in order to meet US safety standards and continue [...]
HVP recall poses safety questions
Mar 13th, 2010
By Sarah Schmidt, Canwest News Service
It sounds more like a chemical than a food ingredient and until this week most consumers had probably never heard of hydrolyzed vegetable protein – let alone realized the additive is found in thousands of processed foods. [More...]
Canada expands recall of salmonella-tainted products
Mar 13th, 2010
Canwest News Service
More items were added Saturday morning to a growing recall list of products that could be contaminated with salmonella after a popular flavour enhancer was found to be tainted with the bacteria last month. [More...]
2 listeriosis cases investigated in Ont.
Mar 11th, 2010
CBC.ca
Ontario health officials are investigating two cases of listeriosis that appear to be linked to salami recalled from stores in Ontario and Quebec about three months ago. [More...]
No food recall poses health risk Option consommateurs asks Agriculture Minister to intervene
Mar 11th, 2010
Option Consommateurs news release
Option consommateurs is concerned over the decision by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) to authorize the sale of potentially contaminated food and has asked federal Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz to intervene on the issue. [More...]
Food recalls likely to come slowly
Mar 9th, 2010
By Sarah Schmidt, Canwest News Service
It could take months for some food companies to figure out whether a popular flavouring ingredient contaminated with salmonella found its way into their products, industry experts say. [More...]
Brace for massive food recall: officials
Mar 9th, 2010
By Sarah Schmidt, Canwest News Service
Canadian consumers can likely expect an avalanche of food recalls after an ingredient used in thousands of processed foods was found to be contaminated with salmonella, government investigators said Friday. [More...]
Foodborne Illness Costs U.S. $152 Billion Annually, Landmark Report Estimates
Mar 5th, 2010
Make Our Food Safe.org
Former U.S. Food and Drug Administration economist Robert L. Scharff estimates the total economic impact of foodborne illness across the nation to be a combined $152 billion annually. [More...]
Contamination scare leading to food recalls in Canada
Mar 5th, 2010
CTV.ca
The recall in the U.S. of a commonly used food additive because of a risk of salmonella poisoning has sparked the recall of a number of food products in Canada — and could lead to many more. [More...]
