Meat safety 
System needs an overhaul

The Windsor Star February 19, 2010 

Food safety became a huge issue for Canadians in 2008, when at least 20
people died from consuming deli meats tainted with listeria. We'd always
put faith in our system of checks and balances, assuming that our food
supply was well-regulated and meat products were inspected frequently.

In the aftermath of those devastating deaths, Canadians expected
inspections would become even more rigorous, yet Brian Masse has exposed
a serious flaw that could cause more harm to consumers.

The Windsor West MP revealed last week that at least 70 trucks hauling
meat from the U.S. have bypassed the inspection process since a new
federal policy was put in place Jan. 4.

Instead of heeding instructions to pull over for inspection, these
trucks have continued to barrel down the road, basically thumbing their
nose at Canadian regulations.

It's easy to do, since there's no real consequence for breaking the law.
"If that truck doesn't report for inspection, it's just basically let
go, a slap on the hand, there's basically no penalty," said Phil
Marchuk, president of Windsor Freezer Services Ltd.

His company and Border City Storage are responsible for conducting these
inspections in Windsor, and what they've uncovered in the past is
alarming. At a press conference, Border City's Kam Rampersaud showed
photos of seized meat products that were either infected with maggots or
covered in rat droppings. The pictures aren't pretty. Neither are the
potential health risks.

Both companies have joined Masse in calling on the federal government to
implement stiffer penalties, and we agree with them. "In the States if
you miss going to an inspection, your fine is three times the load
you're carrying," said Marchuk. "Nobody skips inspections in the States
because it's too risky and too much of a bother."

It's outrageous that these truckers can flout the law; even more so when
you consider the government response.

Julie LePage, a spokeswoman for the Canadian Food Inspection Agency,
countered the complaints by saying "any loads that were targeted for
inspection, but missed by the system, were identified and steps were
swiftly taken to redirect the trucks to approve facilities for CFIA
inspection."

But what about the loads that weren't caught and redirected? And why
weren't the truckers severely fined and forced to relinquish their loads
for violating the rules?

One of the decisions the CFIA made was to stop notifying meat haulers 72
hours head of their arrival that their trucks would be inspected. That
was a good decision. Giving them a head's up can certainly influence
what they transport on any given day, and now every load has the same
random chance of being examined at the border. It should make food
products safer.

But that's assuming truckers follow the rules and show up at the
inspection sites.

Canadians have no appetite for unsafe conditions in our meat supply,
domestic or imported. The government must step up the inspection
process, and it must give heavy fines to those who don't comply.

(c) Copyright (c) The Windsor Star