New food-safety rules for N.B. still pending after five years

August 15, 2004
CP Wire

SAINT JOHN, N.B. - It could, according to this story, be next year before New Brunswick implements tougher food safety regulations, as recommended five years ago by the province's auditor general.

The story says that auditor General Daryl Wilson slammed the government in December for its failure to implement 32 of 36 recommendations he made in 1999 for better food safety, and only four recommendations were in place at the time of his report.

Mark Allen, a Health Department project manager who oversees food safety, was cited as saying that most of the recommendations are in fact in place, but admits there's no way to document that assertion, adding, "Although we've put into practice many of the recommendations the auditor general made, we haven't gotten ourselves into a position where we can document what we've done. Auditors like to see it in writing."

Krista Petersen, a Health department spokeswoman, was quoted as saying that changes to the province's Public Health Act, which governs food safety, "hopefully will be passed in the next session of the legislature," meaning the changes could be in place next year.

The story says that among the 36 recommendations were better training for inspectors, better enforcement, better documentation and the implementation of a no-advance warning policy for inspections.

The recommendations also called for inspections to be prioritized by risk, as well as proper followups and consistent reporting.