FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Ottawa (January 16, 2012) – The federal government has quietly announced plans to cancel important food safety initiatives put in place to shore up a weak inspection system and to address  a chronic shortage of inspectors after the Maple Leaf Foods listeriosis outbreak killed 23 Canadians in 2008.

The CFIA’s latest plan declares that “resources will sunset for Listeriosis, and for increased frequency of food inspection in meat processing establishments” in 2013-14. This plan comes to light amid news that the CFIA is embarking on an extensive review of its regulations to make them more friendly to industry.

“This looks like an exercise to make regulation cheaper, not safer or smarter.  Ottawa should worry about undermining public confidence with food safety cuts because that will be bad for the industry,” said Bob Kingston, President of the Agriculture Union – PSAC, which represents federal food safety inspectors.

The Agency’s 2011-12 Estimates Report on Plans and Priorities forecasts a smaller CFIA by 2013-14 with $21.5 million less funding than current levels and 234 fewer staff.

The CFIA’s Food Safety Program will bear the overwhelming burden of these cuts — $21.1 million and 207 fewer food safety staff – even though food safety represents less than half of overall spending by the CFIA and 46% of its total staff.

At a news conference in Ottawa today, Kingston was joined by Karen Clark, whose mother Francis died in 2008 from listeriosis after eating tainted cold cuts.

“It scares me, quite honestly, to see the federal government’s attitude.  It looks like they think Canadians have forgotten about the listeriosis outbreak and all the people it affected.  That they can reduce these inspectors and safety programs and no one will notice.  Something terrible happened to me and my family.  We’re not special.  If the federal government does not maintain adequate safety oversight and inspection it could happen again to anyone’s family,” Clark said.

“Cuts of this magnitude would leave the food safety program reeling and severely diminish an inspector’s ability to complete assignments, and that means risk of another major food borne illness outbreak will be elevated,” said Kingston.

At best, this decision sends the wrong message that everything is fine in Canada’s food safety system.  At worst, these cuts could unravel important improvements to Canada’s food safety oversight made over the past few years and potentially threaten access to US markets for Canadian producers.

The CFIA’s move to increase the frequency of its inspections was made in direct response to US regulators who demanded that Ottawa station inspectors in slaughter and meat processing facilities every 12 hour shift in order to meet more stringent US requirements.

“US regulators pushed the government of Canada to increase the presence of food safety inspectors in plants producing for export to the US.  Ottawa’s current plans to cut funding the CFIA needs to meet US inspection requirements will send warning signals to regulators south of the border,” Kingston said.

Like other government agencies and departments the CFIA is facing up to a 10% cut to its budget as part of the federal government’s strategic and operating review.  This could translate to an additional cut of $74 million.

“If Ottawa proceeds with the cuts it has already announced, plus another 10%, the federal government will be playing roulette with the health of Canadians.  Producers and processors should be up in arms about these cuts.  We hope they will join us in urging Ottawa to re-consider,” Kingston said.

The Agriculture Union announced that it is launching a campaign to recruit major players in Canada’s food industry to oppose these cuts, starting with Maple Leaf Foods.  The online campaign at www.foodsafetyfirst.ca features an action centre anyone can use to send a message to food industry leaders urging them to get on board.

“To begin, we will be inviting our supporters to urge Michael McCain to tell Ottawa to re-consider these cuts.  Maple Leaf Foods is symbolic of a failed food safety system.  Their company suffered tremendous reputational and economic damage when the food safety system failed Canadians,” Kingston said.

The campaign will also reach out to other Canadian food producers and manufacturers.

“We hope Stephen Harper will listen to industry even if he won’t listen to the concerns of ordinary Canadians who are worried about the safety of their food,” Kingston said.

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For information: Jim Thompson 613-447-9592

Consumers will face new and higher risk

Vancouver – Ottawa plans to dump inspection of dozens of meat plants on the British Columbia government in a move that will expose unwitting BC consumers to heightened risk of eating contaminated meat products, according to the Agriculture Union – PSAC, which represents federal food safety inspectors.

After providing meat safety inspection service for decades, the union has been advised by Canadian Food Inspection Agency that federal inspectors will no longer check BC establishments that produce meat for BC consumers exclusively for E. coli, listeria, salmonella and other contaminants that can have deadly consequences when eaten.

No later than January 2014, responsibility will fall to the province of BC which has no meat inspectors and little of the support infrastructure needed to do the job to current but inadequate safety standards.

CFIA inspectors will continue to conduct food safety work in meat plants that are federally registered, a situation that will widen the existing gap in federal and provincial meat inspection standards.

“To save a few bucks, the federal government is creating a two-tiered meat safety system in which some Canadians enjoy higher standards while others suffer higher risk,” said Agriculture Union President Bob Kingston.

At a news conference in Vancouver held to underscore the new risk consumers will face and the double standard this decision will only make worse, Kingston launched an online petition at www.foodsafetyfirst.ca calling on the government to change its plans.

“Consumers expect their meat products to be inspected for safety by the CFIA.  Otherwise, there is no way for consumers to know if meat has been properly inspected,” Kingston said.

Kingston also released the text of a letter taking the federal Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz who is responsible for the CFIA to task for this decision:

“This is much more important than some federal/provincial squabble over tax points or jurisdiction.  No responsible Minister should allow people to be exposed to dangerous products in this manner.  I urge you to re-consider this decision.  Lives could depend on it.”

For the government of British Columbia, the cost of inspecting almost 60 meat production facilities that are provincially registered will triple because CFIA has provided this service below cost for some years.  With less than half of the required budget, BC will be faced with inspecting all provincially registered meat production facilities with an inexperienced staff that is not big enough to cover the territory and which lacks the necessary supportive infrastructure.

“The bottom line is that by walking away from this responsibility, the federal government is needlessly exposing consumers to elevated risks from eating meat produced in provincially registered establishments,” said Bob Jackson, Regional Executive Vice-President of the PSAC, who joined Kingston at the news conference today.

Provincial meat inspection standards are often much less stringent than those that are in place for federally registered facilities.  This fact was painfully underscored by a recent high profile incident at the Pitt Meadows Meats Ltd in British Columbia.  Soon after the facility owner publicly admitted hiding test results from the federal meat inspector which indicated dangerous E. coli O157:H7 contamination at the facility, he opted out of the federal inspection regime entirely and registered as a provincial facility which allowed his plant to meet the lower provincial standard and to keep operating without missing a beat.

Ottawa is also abandoning inspection of provincially registered meat plants in Saskatchewan and Manitoba which, like BC, have no meat inspectors.

As a result of this decision, inspection of meat from provincially registered facilities in these provinces will likely fall below acceptable standards, and will certainly be beneath the standards and meat inspection practices enjoyed by Canadians living elsewhere.  For example, meat inspection systems in Alberta and Ontario are well established and well supported, so meat inspection conducted in these provinces will be superior.

The federal government is resurrecting the plan to abandon this service in BC, Saskatchewan and Manitoba after it was shelved following the Maple Leaf food poisoning outbreak which left 22 people dead.

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For information: Jim Thompson 613-447-9592

Consumers will face new and higher risk

Winnipeg – Ottawa plans to dump inspection of some meat plants on the Manitoba government in a move that will expose unwitting Manitoba consumers to heightened risk of eating contaminated meat products, according to the Agriculture Union – PSAC, which represents federal food safety inspectors.

After providing meat safety inspection service for decades, the union has been advised by Canadian Food Inspection Agency this arrangement federal inspectors will no longer check the 28 meat plants that produce for Manitoba consumers exclusively for E. coli, listeria, salmonella  and other contaminants that can have deadly consequences when eaten.

No later than January 2014, responsibility will fall to the province of Manitoba which currently has no meat inspectors and little of the support infrastructure needed to do the job to current but inadequate safety standards.

CFIA inspectors will continue to conduct food safety work in meat plants that are federally registered, a situation that will widen the existing gap in federal and provincial meat inspection safety standards.

“To save a few bucks, the federal government is creating a two-tiered food safety system in which some Canadians enjoy higher standards while others suffer higher risk,” said Agriculture Union Regional Vice-President Sam Barlin.

The union is launching an online petition at www.FoodSafetyFirst.ca calling on the government to change its plans.

“Consumers expect their meat products to be inspected for safety by the CFIA.  Otherwise, there is no way for consumers to know if the meat they buy has been properly inspected,” Barlin said.

This morning, the Agriculture Union released the text of a letter from its President, Bob Kingston, taking the federal Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz who is responsible for the CFIA to task for this decision:

“This is much more important than some federal/provincial squabble over tax points or jurisdiction.  No responsible Minister should allow people to be exposed to dangerous products in this manner.  I urge you to re-consider this decision.  Lives could depend on it.”

For the government of Manitoba, the cost of meat inspection will triple because CFIA has provided this service below cost for some years.  With less than half of the required budget, the provincial government’s plan to establish a replacement program starting in mid-2013 with the hiring of approximately 15 meat inspectors is makeshift at best.

“It takes two to three years of classroom and workplace training for a meat inspector to acquire the knowledge they need to do the job.  Six months is simply not enough time to get the program operating before Ottawa leaves.  The bottom line is that by walking away from this responsibility, the federal government is needlessly exposing consumers to elevated risks from eating meat produced in provincial registered establishments,” Barlin said.

Ottawa is also abandoning inspection of provincially registered meat plants in Saskatchewan and British Columbia which, like Manitoba, have no meat inspectors.

As a result of this decision, inspection of meat from provincially registered facilities in these provinces may fall below acceptable standards, and will certainly be beneath the standards and meat inspection practices enjoyed by Canadians living elsewhere.  For example, the provincial meat inspection system in Alberta and Ontario is well established and well supported, so meat inspection conducted in these provinces will be superior.

Provincial meat inspection standards are often much less stringent than those that are in place for federally registered facilities.  This fact was painfully underscored by a recent high profile incident at the Pitt Meadows Meats Ltd in British Columbia.  Soon after the facility owner publicly admitted hiding test results from the federal meat inspector which indicated dangerous E. coli O157:H7 contamination at the facility, he opted out of the federal inspection regime entirely and registered as a provincial facility which allowed his plant to meet the lower provincial standard and to keep operating without missing a beat.

The federal government is resurrecting the plan to abandon this service in BC, Saskatchewan and Manitoba after it was shelved following the Maple Leaf food poisoning outbreak which left 22 people dead.

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For information: Jim Thompson 613-447-9592

“We wish Carole well.  She had a tough job to do, made more difficult by chronic under funding, a reality that has prevented the CFIA from implementing all of the recommendations made by Sheila Weatherill to prevent another widespread food borne illness like the Maple Leaf Foods listeriosis outbreak,” said Bob Kingston, President of the Agriculture Union – PSAC which represents federal food inspectors.

Swan was appointed President of the CFIA on June 4, 2007 at the pleasure of the government for a term of five years.

“Appointing a new President of the CFIA will not address the inspector shortage or the other resources challenges that continue to plague the food safety system in Canada.  We hope the new President of the CFIA will make it clear to the government that significant shortcomings in the food safety system in Canada will remain until sufficient safety and inspection resources are invested,” Kingston said.

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For information: Jim Thompson 613-447-9592

CFIA abandons key consumer protections

Ottawa (28 April 2011) The Canadian Food Inspection Agency has abruptly and without explanation cancelled or deferred inspection activity in important areas designed to protect consumers from unsafe food products and fraudulent practices.

According to CFIA documents released this morning by the food inspectors’ union, the CFIA has indefinitely deferred inspection activities related to ensuring that consumer products available in retail outlets are not fraudulently under weight.  In addition, sources have revealed that the CFIA has cancelled outright its restaurant menu verification program.

Widespread fraudulent activities related to deliberate mislabeling of products in grocery stores has recently come to light as a result of media investigations, work that should be done by the CFIA.   And, new studies have just been published demonstrating that consumers can be fooled by inaccurate and misleading labels into buying products they would not otherwise purchase.

“What would our political leaders say if they became aware that the CFIA is ramping down its consumer protection activities, at the very time when industry practices show clearly consumers need protection?” asked Bob Kingston, President of the Agriculture Union – PSAC, which represents federal food inspectors.

CFIA has gradually been reducing its regulatory oversight activities in the area of consumer protection.  According to the documents released this morning, routine CFIA surveillance of the declared weight of products has been “deferred”.  This means that any producer or retailer is now free to fraudulently claim that their product weigh s more than it does in fact. 

“Just like everywhere else, there are bad apples in the food industry that have demonstrated time and again they cannot be trusted.  When the CFIA withdraws from its regulatory oversight responsibilities – as they are now doing — food manufacturers and retailers take advantage, to the detriment of consumers”, said Bob Kingston

In addition, the CFIA has indefinitely cancelled inspection activities related to ensuring that restaurants menus are accurate and not fraudulent descriptions of their offerings.  This means that restaurants are now free to make whatever claims they want about the nature of the foods on their menus. 

“Claims that menu items are organic, or free of trans fats, or locally produced, can now be made by restaurants safe in the knowledge that no inspector from the CFIA will be checking, unless someone complains,” Kingston said.

“CFIA does not have the resources to fulfill its mandate.  As a result, it is dropping activities it considers to be ‘low risk’, all the while hoping that nothing bad happens as a consequence,” Kingston said.

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 For information: Jim Thompson 613-9592

Imported & Manufactured Food Program (IMFP)

Annual Memo to Inspectors 2011/2012

Purpose

The purpose of this memo is to highlight to CFIA Inspectors responsible for delivering IMFP work specifications, important changes made to existing work activities and to introduce new activities planned for the 2011/2012 fiscal year. 

1.  General Updates

This year marks the introduction of a program-wide initiative to promote a distinct and unified IMFP identity through the implementation of standardized work activity documents which utilize common nomenclature, document appearance and organization. All IMFP WSs outlining written work activities will now formally be referred to as Work Specifications (WSs). They will include a new and simplified coding system to facilitate easier identification of each WS. These IMFP WSs fall into one of four categories:

1) Joint WSs, 2) Manufactured Food (MF), 3) Retail Food (RF), 4) Food Safety (FS)

Table 1:  2011/2012 IMFP Work Specifications

Note: For all 2011/2012 Work Specifications and until further notice:            

i) Net quantity verification activities are deferred, and  

ii) Samples will only be taken to support inspection observations where non-compliance is suspected.

1.1 Contact Information

Please note that a new format has been developed for the list of contacts which are normally provided at the end of each WS. The “Contacts” section of each WS will now contain hyperlinks to two contact lists a Specialist Contact List and a Laboratory Contact List, each will bring users to a master document containing all of the required contact information for each individual WS and each FEN0/FS code lab contact, respectively. Storing this information in one central document will facilitate prompt and accurate updates when there is a change.

1.2 References Section

Most of the information which has historically been found within the “References” or “Appendices” sections of each IMFP WS’s, has been collected into one central RDIMS document; now only the link will be provided in each respective WS. This will enable efficient information management of the supplementary information that is provided to inspectors.

1.3 Sampling

For the fiscal year 2011-2012, FEN0 samples will be taken during inspection.

1.3.1 Inspection FEN0 Samples

This year both the WS code (e.g. WS_JUIC) and the SPRINT inspection number should be entered into the comments section of the LSTS form when samples are sent to the CFIA labs for analysis. This will improve our data and reporting capabilities and will enable us to link each LSTS form with a corresponding WS.

All unsatisfactory lab results for samples taken during inspection must now be entered into IMS to enable better tracking of the follow up related to unsatisfactory LSTS results.

2.  Joint Work Specifications

2.1 General Notes

To the extent possible, it is recommended that both the MF (labelling) and FS inspections be conducted in each establishment, for each WS. However, it should be noted that a full inspection doesn’t necessarily need to include both an FS and MF components. For example, if an allergen concern is identified for a particular establishment, inspection for allergen and applicable labelling controls should be conducted. However, inspection/sampling for micro would be based on operational priorities.

The coordination of MF and FS inspections will be the responsibility of each inspection office/region as they see fit.

WS inspections will not be conducted in registered facilities by IMFP inspectors.

2.2 Joint WS Details

Juice (WS_JUIC): 

This WS is new for 2011/2012 and will involve MF, FS and RF groups. The WS will continue to examine both apple juice and non-alcoholic cider products, but will now be expanded to include other non-federally registered (NFR) juice products, including those made at retail.

It is important to note that this WS will not include frozen novelties, semi-solid products (such as fruit gushers) and candies that contain juice.

This WS will be delivered in three distinct phases: a retail survey, which will be conducted by MF inspectors in Q1of 2011/2012, survey result analysis and associated policy development/clarification in Q2 and the inspection phase will commence in mid-Q2.

Data collected in Q1/Q2 will be shared with the RF and FS groups prior to commencement of their inspection activities in late Q2/Q3.

 Table 2: Juice WS Delivery

 Confectionery (WS_CONF):

This WS is new for 2011/2012 and will involve MF, FS and RF groups. 

 This WS will be delivered in three distinct phases: a retail survey, which will be conducted by MF inspectors in Q1of 2011/2012, survey result analysis and associated policy development/clarification in Q2 and the inspection phase will commence in Q3.

Data collected in Q1/Q2 will be shared with RF and FS prior to commencement of their inspection activities in late Q2/Q3.

This WS is also new for 2011/2012, will have Retail section involvement and will also be delivered in phases:  a retail survey will be conducted by MF inspectors in Q1 of 2011/2012, Survey result analysis and associated policy development/clarification will be conducted by HQ/areas in Q2, and the inspection phase will commence in Q3.

 Table 3: Confectionery WS Delivery

Grain-Based Infant & Toddler Foods (WS_GRA):

The scope of this WS has been expanded to incorporate grain-based foods for young children up to 3 years of age and to examine additional hazards such as undeclared allergens.

It should also be noted that when sampling for mycotoxins, inspectors should limit the products selected to only breakfast-type cereals and infant foods, since snack foods which contain fat may significantly interfere with lab analysis. 

Spices (WS_SPIC):

The scope of last year’s WS included only those spices for which a standard existed (FDR Part B, Division 7). This year, the scope has been expanded to incorporate spice blends and seasoning mixes as it was recognized that both labelling and FS issues can exist in these products.

Border Blitz (WS_BLITZ):

This WS was formerly known as the BIPEIV (or WD004). In an attempt to simplify this former work description, the activities have now been split into 2 separate work specifications:

1) Border Inspection activities, which formerly made up the “BI” portion of the BIPEIV, will now be captured under the Border Blitz WS (WS_BLTZ).

2) Post Entry Import Verification activities, which formerly made up the “PEIV” portion of the former BIPEIV work description will now be captured in the Import Compliance WS (WS_IMPC).

Import Compliance (WS_IMPC):

This WS will be used to assess importer’s controls for food safety hazards and labelling and advertising compliance. This WS will serve as a “catch-all”, enabling inspectors to inspect importing establishments that are not captured in a commodity-specific WS.

 This WS will involve both MF and FS inspection staff and will incorporate activities from the former Post-Entry Import Verification (PEIV) work description, from MF project 0111, and from the former WD003 – Allergen Controls at Importers.

 All MF work conducted in conjunction with this WS should be coded in SPRINT under the 0111 code.  However, to enable the collection of inspection data, that is representative of each respective inspection activity, additional and  more accurate coding information will be required in SPRINT.  Inspectors will now be asked to include the following coding information under the “reason for visit” field:

o     “PV” – should be included to capture information for inspection activities that have occurred as a result of information obtained from the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) or an Area Import Centre (activities that would have formerly been done under PEIV) post-entry import verification activities.

o     “AL” – should be included to capture Allergen Inspection activities.

o     “M” – should be used to capture all other non-compliant inspection activities.

Domestic Manufacturing Compliance (WS_DOMC):

This WS will be used to assess domestic manufacturer’s controls for food safety hazards and labelling and advertising compliance. This WS will serve as the “catch-all”, enabling inspectors to inspect domestic establishments that are not captured in a commodity-specific WS.

 2.3 Clarification on coding of WS_DOM and WS_IMP Activities:

 Food Safety (FS) – Inspectors are reminded that activities related to food safety complaints, investigations and follow-ups should not be coded as WS’s. These activities should be coded under their appropriate complaint/investigation/follow-up code eg. FS300/301, FS500/501, FS700/701 (or F where applicable).

 Manufactured Food (MF) & Retail Food (RF) – Inspectors may code inspection activities related to complaint follow-up as falling under a specific work specification (WS) when a significant amount of the activities required by the WS have been completed in the process of following up on these complaints.

 3.  Dedicated Work Specifications

 3.1 Retail Food Work Specifications

 Establishment lists and random selection instructions have now been added to each retail WS, providing retail inspectors with a reference listing of retail establishments which also includes the date of last inspection.

 To ensure that information is accurately recorded in SPRINT, more detailed instructions have now been added to each RF WS regarding SPRINT data entry.

 In an effort to target high-risk retailers, the percentage of planned (surveillance) inspections has been increased by 25% for WS_RFC and WS_IFR.

 3.2 Food Safety Work Specifications

 The scope of WS_SYR (or FS410 Maple) has been expanded to include all tree syrup and tree syrup products. This will accommodate the inspection of additional establishments for which lead contamination is of concern. 

 RDIMS#: 2705766, v5

Document Name : IMFP Annual Memo for Inspectors 2011/2012

The Agriculture Union – PSAC leveled this charge as the House of Commons Health Committee begins hearings this morning on the implementation of recommendations following Canada’s deadliest food borne illness outbreak.

“Many of the shortcomings that contributed to the Maple Leaf Foods listeriosis disaster two years ago continue to plague the Canadian meat inspection system today,” said Bob Kingston, President of the Agriculture Union – PSAC.

Sheila Weatherill was appointed by the Prime Minister to investigate the outbreak.  Among her 57 recommendations, Weatherill called for an independent audit of the number of inspectors needed to make a new inspection system called the Compliance Verification System, or CVS, work properly.

The federal government claims to have fulfilled this recommendation based on a report it commissioned from PricewaterhouseCoopers .

According to a government prepared summary, PwC concludes that 260 full time inspectors are required to effectively implement CVS, a finding that conveniently confirms the CFIA estimate.

This totally misrepresents the PwC report which clearly states that “This review does not constitute certification or guarantee the accuracy of CFIA’s calculation (of the number of inspectors required to effectively implement CVS).”

Fifteen months after Sheila Weatherill called for an independent resource audit, the government’s own study says the results are not conclusive.

“Effectively, this means that consumers are eating high risk ‘ready to eat’ foods that may not have been adequately inspected, produced in factories that may or may not be meeting safety requirements,” Kingston said.

The Agriculture Union estimates that there were more inspectors working in non-slaughter meat establishments before the Maple Leaf Foods outbreak than the number of inspectors CFIA estimates are required today.  Prior to the outbreak, there were approx. 220 inspectors who devoted the vast majority of their working day to CVS tasks in these meat establishments.  Today, CFIA estimates it needs only 155 FTE inspectors to cover the same territory.  Even adding FTEs for non-CVS work, the total would still fall short of staffing levels before the outbreak.

“The CFIA has yet to explain the number of inspectors it has or needs more than two years after the outbreak.  These numbers truly are inconsistent with all we know and should have raised red flags with CFIA management,” Kingston said.

Sheila Weatherill established several damning facts about the food inspection system in Canada.  She found that:

• The Compliance Verification System (CVS) implemented just before the Maple Leaf Foods outbreak was flawed and in need of “critical improvements related to its design, planning and implementation”.
• CVS was “implemented without a detailed assessment of the resources available to take on these new (CVS) tasks”.
• A shortage of food safety inspectors was in play before the outbreak.

According to an internal CFIA assessment conducted in March and April this year and based on interviews with frontline CFIA inspectors, many of the problems Weatherill identified continue to plague food inspection in Canada.  Among the assessment findings:

• “several participants commented that, in their experience, there was insufficient staff to ensure full delivery of CVS in all plants.” 
• the new inspection system does not allow inspectors enough time to complete verification tasks and lacks effective compliance and enforcement tools when food companies violate safety requirements.
• While some inspectors have access to laptops and high speed internet connections, others “continued to work primarily with pencil and paper”. 
• Inspectors are further hobbled because they do not have direct access to historical information about companies’ food safety records contained in the central CVS database.

“The federal government owes consumers answers about why these problems have been allowed to persist and how the inspection deficit will be addressed,” Kingston said.

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For further information: Jim Thompson 613-447-9592 www.FoodSafetyFirst.ca

The internal assessment found the number of meat inspectors is so inadequate and the workload imposed by a new inspection system (Compliance Verification System or CVS) so great that verification tasks to ensure industry compliance with food safety requirements cannot be completed.  The assessment also found that inspectors remain under-trained, lack modern communications equipment, and continue to struggle with an inspection system (CVS) that lacks enforcement teeth, is unrealistic in its design and is applied in a patchwork across the country.

In addition to the assessment, the government released two other documents which seem designed primarily to obscure the harsh conclusions about the food safety inspection deficit contained in the assessment by frontline inspectors.

“The federal government owes consumers some answers about why these problems have been allowed to persist and how they will be addressed.  Instead, the federal government served up more spin and exaggeration,” said Bob Kingston, President of the Agriculture Union – PSAC, which represents federal food inspectors.

The assessment mirrors the findings of Sheila Weatherill, the investigator appointed by the Prime Minister more than two years ago in the wake of the listeriosis outbreak.

Weatherill reported that the Compliance Verification System which was implemented just before the outbreak was flawed and in need of “critical improvements related to its design, planning and implementation”.  She also found that the CVS was “implemented without a detailed assessment of the resources available to take on these new (CVS) tasks”, and that a shortage of food safety inspectors was in play before the outbreak.

“The CFIA simply does not have the resources it needs to protect Canadians from unsafe food.  Consequently, many of the serious problems Weatherill identified and more remain today,” Kingston said.

The assessment of the CFIA’s meat hygiene program is based on interviews with 53 front line meat inspectors and supervisors across the country conducted in March and April this year, even though Weatherill called for a much more comprehensive audit of the CVS and the resources required to make it work.

According to the assessment, “several participants commented that, in their experience, there was insufficient staff to ensure full delivery of CVS in all plants.”  Assessment participants also report design flaws in CVS: the system does not allow inspectors enough time to complete verification tasks and lacks effective compliance and enforcement tools when food companies violate safety requirements.

For example, under CVS a company can accumulate an unlimited number of Corrective Action Requests, which are issued when an inspector observes a violation of safety requirements, without triggering an in-depth inspection known as a full system audit which would have happened before CVS. 

“Effectively, this means that consumers are eating high risk “ready to eat” foods that have not been adequately inspected, produced in factories that may or may not be meeting safety requirements,” Kingston said.

Since the assessment was completed, CFIA has filled some new process meat inspector positions, often with internal candidates, creating new vacancies within the Agency.

“CFIA is making some progress in growing the process meat inspectorate.  But without action to remedy serious design flaws in CVS, and the training and tools deficit identified in the assessment, only marginal progress will be made toward fixing the problems in the meat hygiene program.  And no progress will be made in the inspection deficit which riddles CFIA’s other programs,” Kingston said.

 The staffing shortage is made worse by the absence of modern tools to allow inspectors to do their work efficiently.  While some inspectors have access to laptops and high speed internet connections, others “continued to work primarily with pencil and paper”.  Inspectors are further hobbled because they do not have direct access to historical information about companies’ food safety records contained in the central CVS database.

“Most inspectors continue to work with stone age tools because CFIA can’t afford to equip them with the basics like cell phones and computers.  Considering the time inspectors are forced to waste travelling to a shared computer and transferring data over dial-up connections, it’s no wonder they can’t complete crucial food safety tasks,” Kingston said.

The assessment identified major gaps in CVS training which is widely acknowledged to be delivered most effectively through a combination of intensive classroom education and mentoring of new staff by experienced inspectors.

Yet, according to the assessment, comprehensive training is impossible to deliver because “the frontline inspection staff complement is not deep enough to regularly free up inspectors for learning and development, as one inspector’s absence must be covered by a colleague”.  The assessment further notes “that the resources required for the mentorship program could not be maintained.”

“Clearly, the CFIA remains resource starved and the inspection deficit continues. This is another red flag that the next food borne illness outbreak related to ready to eat meat products could happen at any time because the inspection system is full of holes.  The picture painted in this assessment should make consumers demand immediate action from the federal government to fix this mess before more people suffer needlessly,” Kingston said.

Also released with the front line assessment of CVS is an expert panel review of CVS technical requirements and a PriceWaterhouseCoopers review of CVS resource requirements.

The government attributes a glowing conclusion to a PriceWaterhouseCoopers “review” of CVS resource requirements that flatly contradicts what is in the PwC report.  Further, the government again overstates the number of meat inspectors that have or will be hired in flagrant conflict with previous government press releases.

“Instead of fixing the inspection deficit, the federal government continues to hide from its responsibility behind a smokescreen of political spin,” Kingston said.

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For information: Jim Thompson 613-447-9592

According to the audit, “CFIA Management of Imported Food Safety has deficiencies that represent multiple areas of risk exposure requiring significant improvement related to the governance, control and risk management processes.”

“This is a sweeping condemnation which essentially found that little is being done to control the safety of imported foods.  We believe this is another symptom of a critically under resourced food safety system,” said Bob Kingston, President of the Agriculture Union – PSAC which represents federal food inspectors.

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For information or to arrange a comment from Mr. Kingston contact:

Jim Thompson

613-447-9592

jim@thompsoncom.ca

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 for consumption by Canadians consumers is inspected on the same frequency as plants that produce for the US market.

“The inspection rate for domestic consumption, as well as for international trade, is exactly the same. It works on a 12-hour cycle,” Mr. Ritz said.

In fact, the CFIA practices two separate inspection frequencies for plants that produce ready-to-eat meat products:

• Plants that ship to the US are subject to a “daily inspection presence” requirement.  This is a standard set by the USDA which defines daily presence as once every 12 hours of production.  Until recently, the CFIA required a meat inspector to visit a meat processing facility licenced for export to the US once a day.  In November last year, the CFIA moved to close this standards gap after the USDA objected.
• Plants that produce only for domestic consumption are normally subject to an inspector’s presence only once a week.  This frequency of inspection for plants producing only for the Canadian market has not changed even since CFIA began inspecting to the USDA’s 12 hour requirement in November 2009.

Today’s appearance before the Agriculture Committee will also be an opportunity for the Minister to explain:

• Why the CFIA has failed to complete an audit of the controversial new meat inspection system called the Compliance Verification System or CVS eight months after Sheila Weatherill found the CVS was “implemented without a detailed assessment of the resources available to take on these new (CVS) tasks”.  Minister Ritz promised this review would be done months ago.
• Why nothing changed when it comes to the number of ready-to-eat meat processing plants inspectors are responsible for.  Pre-Maple Leaf, each inspector was responsible for an average of 4 – 5 plants.  The ratio remains the same today even though it means that the food inspection system is stretched so thin that inspectors don’t have enough time to do their jobs properly.
• Why no additional food inspectors have been added to the CFIA front lines almost two years after the Maple Leaf outbreak and 8 months after the Weatherill report.

In response to the inspection deficit, the federal government has given more responsibility to the food industry to police its own safety practices with less direct supervision from government inspectors.  The government’s approach may be changing, however.

Yesterday, Transport Minister John Baird said: it’s simply wrong for industry to regulate itself.”

Does Minister Ritz agree with his colleague?

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For information: Jim Thompson 613-447-9592

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 to have access to US markets, according to internal Canadian Food Inspection Agency documents.

The food inspectors union released the text of an internal staff memo today which discusses the Canadian Food and Inspection Agency’s approach to the additional USDA safety requirements.

According to the memo, “…the CFIA will be providing additional inspection coverage… to better meet the USDA’s technical requirements for products exported to the US.”

But because of a lack of resources, CFIA has been unable to hire new inspectors to comply with US safety requirements.  At the moment, the CFIA is meeting the US regulator’s safety standards by scheduling overtime among the existing inspectorate, an approach that is not sustainable.

The CFIA memo says “the Agency will need to hire additional inspection staff” but notes that “the CFIA continues to explore funding options as we refine how we deliver these food safety enhancements.  In the short term we will be looking to our current inspection staff to work hours in addition to their regularly scheduled shifts.”

“Unless the government makes new investments in food safety, the CFIA will face a choice: ignore the USDA’s demands and risk losing access to the US market for Canadian processed meat products, or elevate food contamination risks for Canadian consumers by diverting scarce resources away from other inspection programs,” said Bob Kingston, President of the Agriculture Union – PSAC which represents federal food inspectors.

Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz promised an additional $75 million for food safety including 70 new meat inspectors in September 2009 in response to the Weatherill Report on the Maple Leaf Foods listeria outbreak.  However, new inspector positions the CFIA may be creating have been more than offset by attrition.

“The lack of action in response to the Weatherill Report is bad enough.  Now the government has side-swiped real improvements to food safety inspection with the spending cuts it imposed in the budget,” Kingston said.

The only new funding received by CFIA for food safety since Ms. Weatherill released her report is $11 million contained in the 2010/11 Main Estimates that were tabled in the House of Commons on March 3rd, an amount that won’t come close to delivering on the Minister’s promise or addressing the safety standards gap with the US.

Until recently, Canada required a meat inspector to visit a meat processing facility once every 16 hours of plant operation, while the US standard requires an inspector visit once every 12 hours.

According to the memo, “…the CFIA will be providing additional inspection coverage starting in early November (2009), initially on each 12 hour processing shift in certain establishments processing meat products.  This will allow us to better meet the USDA’s technical requirements for products exported to the US.”

It is estimated that up to 50 additional meat inspectors are needed to meet the USDA requirements.

“Overtime dollars don’t grow on trees, especially at the CFIA.  In order to comply with US requirements for a daily inspector presence in meat processing plants, CFIA will be forced to bleed inspection resources once intended to safeguard Canadian consumers since the government has not delivered on its promise of more food inspectors to date,” said Kingston.

The food inspectors union regards this as the latest example of chronic and critical under resourcing of food safety and inspection in Canada.

The full text of the CFIA staff memo follows:

Memo to Inspection Staff
November 6, 2009

As part of Canada’s continued efforts to enhance food safety, the CFIA will be providing additional inspectional coverage starting in early November, initially on each 12 hour processing shift in certain establishments processing meat products.  This will allow us to better meet the USDA’s technical requirements for products exported to the US.

In order to carry out this initiative, the Agency will need to hire additional inspection staff.  The CFIA continues to explore funding options as we refine how we deliver these food safety enhancements.  In the short term, we will be looking to our current inspection staff to work hours in addition to their regularly scheduled shifts.  As much as possible, overtime hours will be assigned on a voluntary basis beginning in early November.

We continue to discuss these plans with PSAC and the meat industry.  We appreciate their cooperation in addressing this challenge.

Employees are encouraged to speak to their managers for more information on these new food safety enhancements and the requirement of overtime hours.  A set of Qs and As has been drafted and are attached for your use.

Please share them with your staff as you see fit.

Thank you for your ongoing support.

Cameron Prince
Vice-President, Operations

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For information: Jim Thompson 613-447-9592