FSnet Aug. 26/08 -- II
OPINION:
Fodborne illness erupts with sickening regularity
TORONTO:
Question of timing
OPINION:
Failure as success
ONTARIO:
Critics blast Clement's absence
CANADA: How
it happened
US: Consumers
worry more about food safety than a host of other issues
OKLAHOMA:
Restaurant inspection reports online
ALBERTA:
Vacci-Test demonstrates the first same-shift test for E.
coli 0157:H7
how to
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OPINION:
Fodborne illness erupts with sickening regularity
26.aug.08
Toronto Star
Douglas Powell
http://www.thestar.com/comment/article/485398
http://barfblog.foodsafety.ksu.edu/2008/08/articles/listeria-1/should-deli-meats-carry-warning-labels/index.html
Michael McCain delivered a powerful and compelling apology
over the weekend as authorities confirmed Maple Leaf deli
meats were the likely source of food-borne illness that has
killed at least six and sickened dozens.
Outbreaks of food and water-borne illness are far too
common. The World Health Organization estimates that up to
30 per cent of people in so-called developed countries will
suffer each and every year. That's a lot of sick people.
But the current listeria outbreak turns statistics into
stories, and challenges a company like Maple Leaf, with
world-class aspirations, to do better.
The first case of listeriosis apparently surfaced in late
June. Why it took the various health authorities so long to
make a link remains to be uncovered.
For now, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, Health Canada
and others are providing little in the way of details
regarding who knew what when.
The authorities are, however, proving unjustifiably adept at
praising themselves for the speed with which they responded
to the outbreak.
Two months after the first case is not an early-warning
system. The political barbs that have been tossed around –
which provide no insight on managing listeria – are simply
embarrassing given the loss of life and illness.
McCain and Maple Leaf are better than this, and can be
better:
• Issue pictures of the recalled products:
Telling people to look for products that contain the stamp
"Establishment (EST) 97B" puts too much of a burden on
people who just wanted to go shopping, not do homework. The
U.S. Food and Drug Administration realized this, and last
year started including pictures on their recall notices for
products deemed to be high health risks.
Pictures aren't superficial, they are good communication.
It's difficult for even PhD-types to wade through nine pages
of recalled products, and pictures can make the connection
for those who don't always know what brands they buy.
• Warn pregnant women and others at risk from listeria in
deli meats:
My wife is six months pregnant and she hasn't had deli meats
or smoked salmon or other refrigerated, ready-to-eat foods
for six months.
That's because, as Michael McCain says, the bacterium
listeria is fairly much everywhere, difficult to control,
and grows in the refrigerator. It also causes stillbirths in
pregnant women, who are about 20 times more likely to
contract the bug than other adults.
The banter in Canada about government or industry taking the
lead on food inspection, whether food should be produced in
large or small places, is misguided at best and more likely,
political opportunism.
Long before the current outbreak, the advice from the
Canadian government about listeria was mushy:
"Although the risk of listeriosis associated with foods from
deli counters, such as sliced packaged meat and poultry
products, is relatively low, pregnant women and
immunosuppressed persons may choose to avoid these foods."
The advice from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control is
clear: Do not eat hot dogs, luncheon meats, or deli meats,
unless they are reheated.
It has been documented that many pregnant women are not
aware of the risks associated with consuming refrigerated,
ready-to-eat foods like cold cuts.
Don't expect the bureaucrats in the Canadian government to
do anything. If Michael McCain and Maple Leaf are truly
concerned with public health, they could at a minimum put
warning labels on their products. Maybe near the "(EST)
97B."
• Make your listeria data public:
Maple Leaf Foods spokesperson Linda Smith told CTV Newsnet
Friday, officials at the plant are "... constantly looking
for it (listeria), constantly swabbing and looking for it."
Smith said the equipment at the plant is sanitized every day
and officials take about 3,000 swabs per year. The plant
also has a microbiologist on site.
"This plant has an excellent food safety record, excellent
inspection record, excellent external auditors. We'll never
know exactly how it got here."
But you do have 3,000 samples per year. If Maple Leaf really
wants to restore public confidence, release the listeria
data. How many positives does the Toronto plant see in a
year? Were there positives leading up to the initial Aug. 17
recall? If there were no positives, why not? What is the
protocol when a positive is discovered?
Consumers can handle more, not less information about the
food they eat.
Maple Leaf Foods has the unfortunate opportunity to set new
standards for consumer confidence.
Douglas Powell of Brantford (Ontario, originally) is an
associate professor of food safety at Kansas State
University.
TORONTO:
Question of timing
26.aug.08
Globe and Mail
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20080826.EMEAT26/TPStory/Comment
At least six people and perhaps as many as 12 are, according
to this editorial, dead, apparently from eating contaminated
meat, a score are ill, and the full extent of sickness and
death across Canada isn't known, as symptoms of listeriosis
- vomiting, nausea, severe headaches - may take several
weeks to show themselves. And yet federal Health Minister
Tony Clement and Robert Clarke, an assistant deputy minister
at the Public Health Agency of Canada, have moved hastily to
declare Ottawa's response a success. "This is an example of
where our surveillance system worked," Mr. Clement said. He
doth self-praise too much, too soon.
Did the surveillance system work? No independent voice has
said so yet, and it is hard to see why Mr. Clement's or Mr.
Clarke's word should be taken at face value. The
two-year-old Public Health Agency, which reports to Mr.
Clement, has yet to distinguish itself for independence. And
everyone - government health officials and the company
involved, Maple Leaf Foods Inc. - considered it enough that
the first warning of possible contamination went out to
distributors, not the public. For four days, the loop was
closed. Whether that was the right or the wrong approach, it
does not do much for the public's confidence in Canada's
food-safety system.
Nor does the ever-widening recall of Maple Leaf products
instill confidence in the company, even if it's true, as its
chief financial officer insisted yesterday, that the latest
recall, of all products at a particular Toronto plant, is
only a precaution. To be fair, though, just two products
have so far been shown to be contaminated.
The first death from listeria was in June, of an elderly
woman in Hamilton. Tracing the source of the bacterium that
killed her was a difficult task, but the question is
whether, at every stage since then, public-health
authorities, the federal meat inspectors and Maple Leaf
Foods Inc., moved as quickly and as publicly as they might
have - and should have - to protect the public.
On Aug. 6, Toronto health authorities informed the Canadian
Food Inspection Agency of its concerns about the deli meats
at a Maple Leaf plant. The first product recall - the first
time the public was told about a problem - was 11 days after
the CFIA (which reports to the Agriculture Minister, not the
Health Minister, suggesting a closer relationship with
industry than with health) became involved. Maple Leaf Foods
employs 23,000 people. Not only do millions of Canadians eat
its meats; many thousands depend on its paycheques. Michael
McCain, its president, has called the outbreak of
contamination the worst to hit the company in 100 years. He
has apologized and promised to get to the bottom of what
went wrong. "We know this has shaken your confidence in us,"
he said, as the first step toward regaining the public's
trust. Mr. Clement's glib answers, on the other hand, fail
to address the public's legitimate questions.
OPINION:
Failure as success
26.aug.08
Winnipeg Sun
Tom Brodbeck
http://winnipegsun.com/News/Canada/2008/08/26/6572666-sun.html
Federal Health Minister Tony Clement says the recent tainted
meat outbreak that killed six people and caused at least 14
more serious illnesses is a shining example of how well
Canada's food inspection system works.
Pardon?
Clement says even though six people have died from the
recent outbreak of listeriosis -- linked to a Maple Leaf
packaging plant in Toronto -- the system worked well in
preventing harm to consumers.
"The surveillance system picked up a problem that was
occurring and allowed us to respond efficiently and
effectively to an emerging public health issue," Clement
told an Ottawa news conference Sunday. "This is an example
of where our surveillance system worked."
Surveillance system? You call that a surveillance system?
The only surveillance here was news that four people who ate
tainted meat died. Once we found that out, we knew we had a
problem.
Nothing "worked." It failed, actually.
If this is what Clement calls a success story, I'd hate to
see what he considers a system failure.
Clement says once the federal government was notified about
the outbreak, they sprang into action and acted as quickly
as possible.
"In those terms, certainly, I think this was a success," he
said.
A success? Try telling that to the families of the deceased.
So what if the feds acted quickly after they were notified.
By then it was too late.
Our refrigerators were already filled with this stuff.
Isn't the real question here how to prevent ready-made meat
products from being infected with this potentially deadly
bacteria in the first place?
I would have preferred if Clement committed to improving the
inspection process instead of patting himself on the back
for a system that failed to prevent six deaths.
It's hardly a food inspection success story.
I understand listeria is difficult to control in packaging
plants because the bacteria is present in so many areas.
It's a significant challenge and there are no easy solutions
to making packaging plants listeria-free.
In a recent newsletter, that province's Agriculture and
Rural Development Department says a lot more can be done to
eliminate listeria from processed foods.
"Controlling listeria monocytogenes in processed foods is
really up to each of us," the newsletter says. "Every year
this organism causes costly recalls for our industry as well
as illnesses and deaths for our consumers. When every
employee understands the organism and basic sanitation
principles and gains a sense of personal responsibility, we
will be able to eliminate this potentially dangerous
bacterium from our finished products."
Sounds like there's room to improve Canada's "surveillance
systems" in meat processing plants if you ask me.
I don't think six deaths and 14 serious illnesses is
anything to be proud of.
ONTARIO:
Critics blast Clement's absence
26.aug.08
Globe and Mail
Bill Curry
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20080826.MEATTICKTOCK26/TPStory/National
OTTAWA -- Canada's Health Minister Tony Clement is in Denver
this week to take in Barack Obama's coronation at the
Democratic National Convention, leaving his officials in
Ottawa to manage one of the largest food recalls in Canadian
history.
Mr. Clement made his first public comments Sunday on the
growing outbreak of listeriosis, but by yesterday
Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz was back as the lead point
man for the Conservative government.
Further, Mr. Clement's office told The Globe and Mail
yesterday that the Health Minister was not notified about
the listeriosis outbreak until Aug. 19 - three days after
Canadian Food Inspection Agency officials recommended to
Health Canada officials that a recall take place.
It was on Aug. 19 that Mr. Clement's political staff sent
him an e-mail notifying him that his department had been
dealing with a listeriosis outbreak and that he should be
briefed.
The e-mail was sent the day before Maple Leaf foods recalled
more than 20 meat products and shut down its Toronto plant.
The day after the recall, Mr. Clement discussed the outbreak
face to face with Prime Minister Stephen Harper in Ottawa.
While Mr. Ritz, who is responsible for the CFIA, came to
Ottawa immediately from his Saskatchewan riding to manage
the growing crisis, Mr. Clement carried on with his regular
schedule, including stops in Saskatchewan and his Parry
Sound-Muskoka riding in Ontario.
"I continue to be available all hours of the day and night,"
said Mr. Clement in a phone call from Denver, where he is
one of three Conservative ministers at the event, along with
government House Leader Peter Van Loan and Transport
Minister Lawrence Cannon. "This is a very important
convention where there is a chance that the next president
of the United States will be nominated."
Liberal Leader Stéphane Dion has already pointed out that
Mr. Clement was in the Ontario government that was partly
blamed for the tainted-water deaths in Walkerton, Ont. Mr.
Dion accused the federal Tories of wanting to take the same
deregulation approach to food.
CANADA: How
it happened
26.aug.08
Globe and Mail
Matthew Trevisan
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080826.wmeattimeline26/BNStory/National/home
Late July
Toronto public health officials decide there's reason to
believe listeria cases are higher than normal in the city,
after two residents of a long-term care facility die and are
found to have been infected with listeria.
Aug. 5
Public health test results reveal that a sandwich from the
nursing home was contaminated with listeria.
Aug. 6
Toronto health officials contact the Canadian Food
Inspection Agency and return to the Toronto nursing home to
collect additional samples of several deli meats and
cheeses, including the Maple Leaf Sure Slice brand.
Aug. 13
Maple Leaf sends a letter to distributors informing them
they are being investigated by the CFIA, and to place on
hold any remaining inventory of Sure Slice roast beef,
corned beef and Black Forest ham.
Aug. 14
The CFIA holds a teleconference with Ontario health
officials and local health agencies. Local agencies are told
to take samples at hospitals and long-term care facilities
of Sure Slice meat and other deli samples, and those
facilities are told to not serve the same Sure Slice meat
mentioned in the distributors' letter.
Aug. 15
Sampling continues.
Aug 16
The CFIA discusses its findings to date with Health Canada.
A recommendation is made to initiate a recall. Maple Leaf is
informed that its Sure Slice roast beef tested positive for
listeria.
Aug. 17
Maple Leaf recalls its Sure Slice roast beef and corned
beef.
Aug. 19
Maple Leaf is informed that its Sure Slice roast beef and
corned beef tested positive in later tests and prepares to
recall more products as a precaution. Health Minister Tony
Clement is informed of the situation via an e-mail from his
political staff.
Aug. 20
Maple Leaf recalls more than 20 meats and shuts a plant, at
an estimated cost of $2-million.
Aug. 21
Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Mr. Clement discuss the
issue in person.
Aug. 22
Royal Touch Foods recalls its Shopsy's Reuben sandwich,
which contains meat from the Maple Leaf recall.
Aug. 23
Health officials confirm the link between the Maple Leaf
Toronto plant and the listeria outbreak.
Aug. 24
Maple Leaf expands the recall to include all 220 products
produced at the plant. Cost to company rises to estimated
$20-million.
Aug. 25
Lucerne Foods announces recall of some Mac's and Safeway
sandwiches across Western Canada, after some sandwich meat
was named in Maple Leaf's latest recall.
US: Consumers
worry more about food safety than a host of other issues
26.aug.08
Meatingplace.com
Lisa M. Keefe
http://www.meatingplace.com/MembersOnly/webNews/details.aspx?item=9502
U.S. consumers are more concerned about the safety of their
food than they are about the war in Iraq or global warming,
according to new research by the Center for Food Integrity
in Kansas City.
In its Consumer Trust Survey, respondents rated how worried
they were about a list of issues, rating them on a scale of
0 (not concerned) to 10 (very concerned). The survey showed
respondents were more worried about food safety than war,
immigration issues, global warming and humane handling
issues. They were less worried about food safety, however,
than rising costs of all kinds and their own financial
situation.
Issues were ranked by the mean rating given them by more
than 2,000 respondents.
Respondents were also asked to react to 24 statements about
the food system. Less than 20 percent strongly agreed that
government agencies are doing a job of ensuring the safety
of the food we eat.
The Center for Food Integrity is a not-for-profit
corporation established to build consumer confidence in the
contemporary U.S. food system. Member organizations include
farmers and ranchers, processors, companies that deliver
food products under local, regional and global brand names,
and government.
OKLAHOMA:
Restaurant inspection reports online
26.aug.08
KTUL-TV
Mark Bradshaw
http://www.ktul.com/news/stories/0808/547418.html
Your Email: Every year, the Tulsa County Health Department
conducts thousands of inspections, many restaurants at least
four times a year. Want to see how your favorite place to
eat stacks up?
The health department has made it easy. It has the
inspection records of more than three-thousand eating
establishments in Tulsa County. The records date back four
years and all of them are online.
During each inspection, restaurants are checked for dozens
of possible violations, from non-critical such as restrooms
that need cleaning, to those considered risk factors by the
Centers for Disease Control, violations like
cross-contamination of foods that can make you sick.
A NewsChannel 8 investigation last year found many
restaurants had been served a steady diet of violations.
Over an 18-month period of time, inspectors had cited dozens
of places with more than one hundred violations and a couple
of them which had double that.
In fact, in 2006, the health department conducted more than
10-thousand inspections and found something wrong in almost
every place they visited.
That sounds bad, but the health department says its goal is
to find problems before they make someone sick. And, they
want you to keep in mind that these inspections are only a
snapshot in time and reflect the conditions on that
particular day.
ALBERTA:
Vacci-Test demonstrates the first same-shift test for E.
coli 0157:H7
26.aug.08
Vacci-Test Corporation
William J. Hogan
http://www.marketwire.com/press-release/Vacci-Test-Corporation-893165.html
CALGARY, ALBERTA -- With food safety top of mind for
consumers and the food industry, Vacci-Test Corporation
("Vacci-Test") is pleased to announce that its first food
safety test, FoodChekTM-E.coli, has successfully completed a
field trial at a major meat packaging facility and has shown
that it can accurately test for E.coli O157:H7 in less than
6 hours, including enrichment. FoodChekTM-E.coli is a
revolutionary new same-shift test that is rapid, accurate
and cost effective. FoodChekTM-E.coli is a breakthrough
solution for meat-processors enabling them to deliver high
quality and safe products to consumers.
FoodChekTM-E.coli uses magnetic nanotechnology and a
proprietary, inexpensive and easy-to-use magnetic reader
that provides a very sensitive, specific and quantitative
test result.
The field trial was conducted at Vantage Foods Inc., a
leading processor of retail ready fresh meats, at their
facility in Chilliwack, British Columbia. Mr. Gary Haley,
President and CEO of Vantage Foods stated "We are pleased to
have been able to work with Vacci-Test in field testing
their new rapid E.coli product. Vantage Foods prides itself
on using leading edge technology such as FoodChekTM-E.coli
to compliment our best business practices philosophy of
distributing the highest quality and safest products to our
customers."
Sandy MacPherson, Chairman of the Executive Operating
Committee of Vacci-Test, stated "Our FoodChekTM-E.coli test
will have a major impact for both regulatory agencies and
meat-processors. Potential food contaminants such as E.coli
O157:H7 can now be tested on site and identified prior to
the end of a production shift. FoodChekTM-E.coli eliminates
the need for slaughterhouses and meat-processors to hold
finished products in cold storage until testing can be
completed by off-site third parties."
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