BARFBLOG: Maple Leaf listeria vp apologizes for bad comedy routine

25.aug.09
barfblog
Doug Powell

The Toronto Star reports this morning that a Maple Leaf Foods executive
has apologized after joking about last year's listeria outbreak in
Canada that killed 22 people.
http://www.thestar.com/article/685958
There are any number of elements that make this story particularly gross
and uniquely Canadian.
It all began one-year ago yesterday - or at least that's what Maple Leaf
CEO and spokesthingy Michael McCain would have Canadians believe. McCain
and Maple Leaf ran full-page advertisements in newspapers across Canada
yesterday, saying oops, sorry about that listeria thing that killed 22
people last fall. 
McCain wrote on the company blog, 
"It was a year ago on August 23, 2008 that some of our products were
linked to the death of 22 Canadians and made many others very ill."
http://blog.mapleleaf.com/2009/08/one-year-ago-239
That's fantasy. Maple Leaf products were epidemiologically linked to
illness and death in Canadians in July. Both the company and the
Canadian Food Inspection Agency have steadfastly refused to give a full
accounting of who knew what when. But that's not me talking - that's
from the chief medical officer of Ontario.
http://barfblog.foodsafety.ksu.edu/2009/04/articles/listeria-1/more-canadian-listeria-reports-more-bureaucratic-bs/
And then, I guess while Maple Leaf types were being credited for another
PR sensitivity win, a video of a Maple Leaf vp surfaces showing him
joking about the listeria illnesses and deaths. 
http://barfblog.foodsafety.ksu.edu/2009/04/articles/food-safety-communication/canadian-politicians-beware-maple-leafs-michael-mccain-isnt-really-that-into-you/
I blogged it yesterday, and within an hour, former B.C. Deputy Minister
of Agriculture and current Maple Leaf vp Rory McAlpine wrote on
barfblog.com:
http://barfblog.foodsafety.ksu.edu/2009/08/articles/listeria-1/maple-leaf-listeria-vp-sucks-as-comedian/
"I want to sincerely apologize on your blog for the joke with which I
began
my comments at the Conference earlier in August. These were my personal
remarks, and I appreciate in hindsight they were not appropriate given
the
Listeriosis outbreak and the death and illness it caused. I didn't in
any way mean to make light of this tragedy and I feel terrible that my
early remarks conveyed a callousness that I don?t feel. You have every
right to call me on it and I am deeply sorry. 
"I hope my full remarks that day, the questions from the audience and my
participation in the panel discussion reflect better on how acutely
accountable I and everyone at Maple Leaf feels for what happened and all
the actions we are taking to achieve our commitment to food safety
leadership."
http://investor.mapleleaf.ca/phoenix.zhtml?c=88490&p=irol-govBio&ID=147069
That's some well-sized kahunas. I've also said dumb things and had to
apologize. But McCain said yesterday, "holding ourselves to a higher
standard means we will act more quickly and more assertively when there
is a potential food safety concern - even a small one."
So, once again, before anyone at Maple Leaf gives lectures on how to
handle a crisis - which Rory has done, it's all online - make your
listeria data public and put warning labels on your product so pregnant
woman, the elderly and others don't barf from your food.
http://www.thepigsite.com/articles/24/processing/2681/food-safety-crisis-101-maple-leafs-keys-to-restoring-confidence
As I told the Toronto Star,
"It's nice that he apologized, but it would be better if he'd put
warnings labels on products for old people and pregnant women and make
(listeria test result) data public."
It's also sorta gross that no one from the best and brightest conference
at Couchiching where Rory laid down his comedian wares said anything
about this until yesterday. They all seemed to have a ball (right). How
Canadian.
Rory may not remember me but when he was deputy minister of agriculture,
I was invited in Dec. 2003 to give a talk at a meeting of all the deputy
ministers of agriculture, and I talked about how food safety reality
should match rhetoric. Maybe Rory stepped out.
And I note Rory is on the International Advisory Council for the Ontario
Agricultural College - or at least he was. When I was at the University
of Guelph, the Dean du jour of OAC would annually speak to us lowly
faculty about the need to be visionary and how we could use the advice
of visionary dudes to be better professors.
So the Dean would spend college money on some sort of international
advisory committee which was usually staffed with colleagues and cronies
near and dear to the dean. 
http://www.oac.uoguelph.ca/international/iac/members/mcalpine-rory.cfm
It's true: the best and brightest do rise to the top. Kudos to Rory.