Press Release

Food inspectors ask: what’s in your sandwich?

MPs can vote for food safety even during prorogation
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Ottawa – On behalf of the 11 to 13 million Canadians who are sickened every year by the food they eat, the food inspectors union delivered an electronic “sandwich” to every MP today which contains critical information about the risks Canadians face by eating everyday [...]

PHANTOM TRUCKS SHOW NEW MEAT INSPECTION REGIME NOT WORKING: New Democrats Masse and Allen say safety of Canada’s food at risk

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...]

Federal Government gets failing grade on food safety

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Ottawa – Inaction on food safety has earned the federal government a failing grade six months after the Prime Minister’s special investigator Sheila Weatherill tabled recommendations on how to prevent a repeat of the Maple Leaf Foods listeriosis outbreak which killed 22 people and sickened many more.
A mid-term report card on the government’s [...]

Food safety investigation falls short

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Inspector shortage compromising food safety
Ottawa – Many of Sheila Weatherill’s recommendations make a constructive and valuable contribution to improving the safety of food in Canada and should be implemented immediately, even though it appears that the CFIA and others in government have either withheld information or misled her, according to the union representing [...]

Food safety report sets a prudent course on inspector shortage

Ottawa – The federal government should move quickly to implement recommendations concerning food inspection resources contained in a report tabled in Parliament this morning, according to the Agriculture Union – PSAC, which represents government food inspectors.
Following two months of public hearings, the parliamentary food safety committee expressed concern about the inspector shortage and CFIA’s inability [...]

Meat safety inspection spread too thin

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Ottawa – A new staffing survey shows the critical shortage of inspectors in meat processing plants in Canada continues to make it impossible for federal inspectors to verify industry compliance with safety rules.
“These numbers show an inspectorate staffed far below minimum levels.  With individual inspectors being in charge of five facilities on average [...]

Canadians place food safety trust in government – Nanos poll

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Ottawa (20 May 2009) – The vast majority of Canadians want government to step in and play a much more active role to ensure food safety because they don’t trust industry to do the job, according to a new Nanos survey.
Seven in ten Canadians believe Ottawa should invest more resources and be more [...]

McCain’s food safety fix requires more inspectors

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Ottawa – Michael McCain’s pitch today to retain food industry self-inspection with tougher and uniformly applied safety rules requires more government oversight and inspection, according to the food inspector’s union.
“Canadians want government safety inspectors verifying that companies like Maple Leaf are following the rules. After last summer, who can blame them for their [...]

CFIA food inspectors react to whitewash lisertia report

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 [...]

Inspectors call for Parliamentary Investigation into Food Safety

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Ottawa – Canada’s food inspectors’ union is urging Parliamentarians to step in and conduct an investigation into the listeriosis outbreak last summer that left at least 20 Canadians dead after eating contaminated Maple Leaf cold cuts.
“We welcome, with reservations, today’s appointment of Sheila Weatherill to conduct the Prime Minister’s investigation of the outbreak. [...]