FOOD SAFETY: Londoners were promised a system that would identify restaurants which passed health inspections, had minor violations or major ones

By JONATHAN SHER
THE LONDON FREE PRESS

Last Updated: 4th February 2010, 9:23am

By now London diners were supposed to be able to see clearly into the
kitchens of local restaurants whose health record would be as clear as
the red, yellow or green signs put on their front windows by health
inspectors.

The plan was to finally catch up to Torontonians, who've had similar
signs since 2001, and join a growing number of cities in Ontario and
beyond that have put in the spotlight the health practices of
restaurants and those who regulate them.

But nearly 16 months after the local health board recommended posting
the food safety signs, they're still at least a few months away -- the
delay the result of bureaucratic hand-offs slowed when key personnel
left London for other jobs.

Jim Reffle, the director of environmental health at the London Middlesex
Health Unit, blamed the delay on a shuffling of bodies at city hall. The
city's head of licensing had left for a job elsewhere and was soon
followed by the city clerk, leaving the task of writing a sign bylaw and
others to the head of bylaw enforcement.

Reffle defended what, for Londoners, has been a decade-long wait to get
the same protections offered in Toronto, a sign system that officials
there linked to a 30% reduction in food-borne illness.

He said London couldn't follow Toronto's lead because it lacked the
computer system needed to do so until 2007.

While Reffle first proposed a restaurant-inspection disclosure system in
2006, it took two years for he and the health board to agree on its
details.

Reffle also thought it better to go cautiously, because some thought the
province might step in with its own regulations.

The board agreed in October 2008 to post colour signs -- red when a
restaurant is closed for health reasons, yellow when there are
violations that aren't an imminent health risk and green for those that
fare well.

It wasn't until last March that health officials asked city politicians
to pass a bylaw permitting the change.

But one consumer advocate turned aside that explanation of the delay
like a diner does cold soup.

"One would think the city of London would care more about its citizens,"
said Don Mercer, the president of the Consumer Council of Canada.

Officials at city hall and the health unit promise change is coming
soon: Later this month or next, health officials will put online a
database of inspection summaries that Londoners will be able to search.

By April, city staff will complete a draft bylaw for the inspection
signs. That will go to a public feedback meeting required before city
council considers the change.

The London system will depart at first from that used in Toronto in one
key area -- restaurants who deserve a yellow sign will get a grace
period of 48 hours to clean up their act. Reffle expects that grace
period would be phased out within a year.

The changes are backed by the manager of The Only on King restaurant,
Scott Sloan.

"The health inspector says we have one of the cleanest places in
London," he said. "If I were a consumer, it would make me more
comfortable (having a disclosure system)."

It's not just restaurants that'll be put in the spotlight, said Mercer
-- so will health inspectors themselves.

Many cities already disclose restaurant inspections, said Dr. Douglas
Powell, associate professor of food safety at Kansas State University,
who taught at the University of Guelph and published work on the issue
in the Journal of Food Service.

In cities that post inspection findings, diners often use them to select
where to eat and restaurants strive for better compliance, he found.

You might think that would reduce foodborne illness, but the research in
that area is inconclusive, he said.

The World Health Organization estimates up to 30% of people in developed
countries become ill each year from food or water and up to 70% of those
illnesses are linked to food service establishments.

--- --- --- 

HOW IT WORKS 

City hall will present a draft bylaw by April that would require health
inspectors to post colour signs after inspecting restaurants:

Green: Passed inspection 

Yellow: Violations not serious enough to close the place

Red: Closed for violations 

Jonathan Sher is a Free Press reporter.

jonathan.sher@sunmedia.ca

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ALERTE À L'ALLERGIE - PRÉSENCE NON DÉCLARÉE DE LAIT DANS LA MARGARINE À L'HUILE DE SOJA DE MARQUE « INCREDIBLE EDIBLE SPREAD'EM »

OTTAWA, le 11 février 2010 - L'Agence canadienne d'inspection des aliments (ACIA) et
l'entreprise A & M Home Products avisent les personnes allergiques au lait de ne pas
consommer de margarine à l'huile d'olive de soja de marque « Incredible Edible
Spread'Em » décrite ci-dessous. En effet, le produit pourrait contenir des produits
laitiers alors que l'étiquette n'en fait pas mention.

Le produit visé, la margarine à l'huile de soja de marque « Incredible Edible
Spread'Em » à l'ail, aux herbes et aux épices est vendu en contenants de trois
formats différents : 
230 g, 454 g et 908 g. Tous les codes de produit sont visés par la présente mise en
garde.

Le produit visé a été vendu en Ontario et pourrait avoir été distribué à l'échelle
nationale.

Aucun cas de réaction allergique lié à la consommation de ce produit n'a été signalé.

La consommation de ce produit peut déclencher une réaction grave, voire mortelle,
chez les personnes allergiques aux protéines de lait. 

Le fabricant, A & M Home Products, de Hensall (Ontario), retire volontairement le
produit visé du marché. L'ACIA surveille l'efficacité du rappel.

Pour de plus amples renseignements, les consommateurs et les gens de l'industrie
peuvent composer l'un des numéros suivants :

A & M Home Products, au 519-235-2508; 

l'ACIA, au 1-800-442-2342/ATS 1-800-465-7735, du lundi au vendredi de 8 h à 20 h
(heure de l'Est).

Pour obtenir de l'information sur le lait, l'un des neuf allergènes alimentaires les
plus courants, consultez la page Web consacrée aux allergènes alimentaires à :
http://www.inspection.gc.ca/francais/fssa/labeti/allerg/milklaitf.shtml.

Pour en savoir plus sur les rappels d'aliments, consultez le rapport sur les rappels
d'aliments de l'ACIA à l'adresse
http://active.inspection.gc.ca/fra/corp/recarapp_dbf.asp 

Pour obtenir d'autres renseignements sur la façon de recevoir les rappels par
courrier électronique ou sur la salubrité des aliments, visitez notre site Web à
l'adresse www.inspection.gc.ca


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