Jim Thompson
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Homepage: http://www.foodsafetyfirst.ca
Posts by Jim Thompson
Cheap meat and cruelty
June 9, 2010 - 11:57 am
Posted in Media Story | No comments
Victoria Times Columnist
The way some animals are being transported to slaughter in Canada could make you sick. Not just heartsick at what appears to be careless cruelty. But physically sick. [More...]
Canada’s food safety lacks farm-to-fork traceability
June 3, 2010 - 7:51 am
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By Sarah Schmidt, Canwest News Service
Despite a sharpened focus on food safety in Canada after the 2008 listeriosis crisis, the quality of the country’s food-safety system remains essentially unchanged, a newly published ranking concludes. [More...]
Audit Finds Tainted Meat Reaching Consumers
April 21, 2010 - 5:20 pm
Tags: food safety, US Department of Agriculture
Posted in Media Story | No comments
by Helena Bottemiller Food Safety News
Veterinary drugs, pesticides, and heavy metals are making it onto our plates via meat, according to a federal audit released this week. [More...]
Immediate action on food safety needs to be taken
April 21, 2010 - 9:47 am
Tags: Federal politics, Food Inspectors, Maple Leaf Foods, Sheila Weatherill
Posted in Media Story | No comments
By KIRSTY DUNCAN, CAROLYN BENNETT AND WAYNE EASTER Owen Sound Sun Times
Canadians have been fed a new vocabulary by the federal government: “global synchronized economic downturn,” “recalibration,” and “listeria outbreak.” [More...]
Family’s juice-box ordeal highlights food-industry woes: Expert
April 6, 2010 - 10:01 pm
Tags: CFIA, food safety
Posted in Media Story | No comments
By Sarah Schmidt Canwest News Service
In Johnny’s mind, it seemed like the obvious thing to do.
The boy didn’t want his classmate to get sick, so he walked right over to him, took the juice box and poured the drink down the drain. [More...]
Pasteurization makes meat safer, scientist says
March 18, 2010 - 9:41 am
Tags: CFIA, Federal politics, Food Inspectors, Pasteurization, PSAC
Posted in Media Story | No comments
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
March 17, 2010 - 10:06 pm
Tags: CFIA, Food Inspectors, Food Recalls
Posted in Media Story | No comments
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
March 17, 2010 - 1:53 pm
Tags: CFIA, Federal politics, Food Inspectors, Maple Leaf Foods
Posted in Press Release | Comments Off
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
March 17, 2010 - 8:45 am
Tags: CFIA, Federal politics, Food Inspectors
Posted in Media Story | No comments
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
March 15, 2010 - 7:57 am
Posted in Press Release | Comments Off
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
March 13, 2010 - 10:49 am
Tags: Food Recalls, HVP, Salmonella
Posted in Media Story | No comments
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
March 13, 2010 - 10:23 am
Tags: Food Recalls, Salmonella
Posted in Media Story | No comments
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.
March 11, 2010 - 3:36 pm
Posted in Media Story | No comments
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
March 11, 2010 - 2:48 pm
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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
March 9, 2010 - 3:12 pm
Tags: Food Recalls, Salmonella
Posted in Media Story | No comments
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
March 9, 2010 - 3:09 pm
Tags: Food Recalls, Salmonella
Posted in Media Story | No comments
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
March 5, 2010 - 11:24 am
Posted in Media Story | No comments
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
March 5, 2010 - 11:08 am
Posted in Media Story | No comments
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...]
PHANTOM TRUCKS SHOW NEW MEAT INSPECTION REGIME NOT WORKING: New Democrats Masse and Allen say safety of Canada’s food at risk
February 12, 2010 - 5:05 pm
Tags: CFIA, food imports, Food Inspectors
Posted in Press Release | No comments
NDP Press Release
WINDSOR – New Democrat Border Critic Brian Masse (Windsor-West) says disturbing new information about trucks carrying imported meats that are failing to report for inspections shows that the Harper government’s new food-safety regime simply isn’t working.[More...]
Obama Boosts FDA Food Safety in FY2011 Budget
February 3, 2010 - 9:48 am
Posted in Media Story | No comments
by Helena Bottemiller , Food Safety News What Obama’s budget means for food safety: FDA gets big bump, but relies on fees in pending food safety legislation; FSIS budget leaves experts concerned. [More...]
Canadian Coalition Wants on PM’s Agenda
February 3, 2010 - 9:44 am
Posted in Media Story | No comments
by Dan Flynn, Food Safety News
The Canadian Supply Chain Food Safety Coalition is asking Prime Minister Stephen Harper for a new round of consultations between Ministers of Health, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada and the agri-food industry. [More]
Government gets failing grade on food safety from union, consumers’ group
January 27, 2010 - 3:29 pm
Posted in Media Story | No comments
Canadian Press
OTTAWA — The government hasn’t improved the food-safety system six months after the fatal listeriosis outbreak, food inspectors and a consumers group said Wednesday. [More]
Food inspection agency hasn’t acted on safety recommendations: report
January 27, 2010 - 3:25 pm
Tags: CFIA, Federal politics, Food Inspectors, Maple Leaf Foods, Sheila Weatherill
Posted in Media Story | No comments
By Sarah Schmidt, Canwest News Service
OTTAWA — The Canadian Food Inspection Agency on Wednesday received a failing grade from its own meat inspectors for not acting on the “vast majority” of recommendations made six months ago to improve food safety. [More]
Independence of food safety probe questioned
November 12, 2009 - 10:56 pm
Tags: Sheila Weatherill
Posted in Media Story | No comments
By: Sarah Schmidt, Vancouver Sun
OTTAWA — The federal government has appointed the top bureaucrat at Agriculture Canada to lead Ottawa’s overhaul of food safety after an investigation into last year’s deadly listeriosis outbreak called for an independent expert to direct the effort.
Sheila Weatherill zeroed in on a “vacuum in senior leadership” among government officials during [...]
E. Coli Path Shows Flaws in Beef Inspection
October 3, 2009 - 10:28 am
Tags: E. coli
Posted in Media Story | No comments
By: MICHAEL MOSS, New York Times
Stephanie Smith, a children’s dance instructor, thought she had a stomach virus. The aches and cramping were tolerable that first day, and she finished her classes.
Then her diarrhea turned bloody. Her kidneys shut down. Seizures knocked her unconscious. The convulsions grew so relentless that doctors had to put her in [...]
Thanks to you!
September 21, 2009 - 1:21 pm
Posted in Briefing Note | No comments
The federal government made an important announcement on food safety that is a direct response to you and thousands like you who have voiced their concern about the shortage of food safety inspectors.
Beginning immediately, the federal government will invest $75 million to improve food safety, including the hiring of 70 new processed meat inspectors, an [...]
