CANADA: Food agency database shows rise in serious product recalls

07.oct.11
CBC News
David McKie

The number of recalls involving possibly deadly food products has increased over the past two years, and it's a trend that is likely to continue as Canada's food safety body steps up its monitoring.
According to a CBC News analysis of product recall data the Canadian Food Inspection Agency posts on its website, the number of its most serious recalls increased from about 129 in 2010 to 147 up until the end of September of this year.
The agency was unable to provide a spokesperson for an interview, but in an e-mailed response, the CFIA confirmed its own internal, more detailed numbers demonstrate a similar trend that could continue next year "at the same rate as we have experienced so far this year."
The product recalls come in three classes, with the first one being the most serious. The second and third classes are less serious and may lead to recalls. In the past, the agency only alerted Canadians about class 1 recalls in the form of warning letters posted on its website and news releases that may have been picked up by the media.
In 2005, an internal audit was critical of its recall system, concluding that it was broken and needed to be fixed. “A public warning may be issued depending on the seriousness of the health risk, the audit noted. “There is no clear policy on when a recall requires public warning.” Now the agency posts recalls in all three categories in a table that is easier for consumers to read.