January 17, 2012 - According to the Agriculture Union - PSAC, which represents federal food safety inspectors, planned cuts by the federal government to food safety initiatives may risk another major food borne illness outbreak along the lines of the 2008 listeriosis outbreak killed 23 Canadians.
The CFIA's 2011-12 Estimates Report on Plans and Priorities forecasts a smaller CFIA by 2013-14 with $21.5 million less funding than current levels and 234 fewer staff. The agency's Food Safety Program will see cuts of $21.1 million and 207 fewer food safety staff. Much of this staff was hired following the 2008 outbreak, the union noted.
"This looks like an exercise to make regulation cheaper, not safer or smarter. Ottawa should worry about undermining public confidence with food safety cuts because that will be bad for the industry," stated union president Bob Kingston.
"Cuts of this magnitude would leave the food safety program reeling and severely diminish an inspector's ability to complete assignments, and that means risk of another major food borne illness outbreak will be elevated," he added.
At a news conference in Ottawa, Kingston was joined by Karen Clark, whose mother Francis died in 2008 from listeriosis after eating tainted cold cuts.
"It scares me, quite honestly, to see the federal government's attitude. It looks like they think Canadians have forgotten about the listeriosis outbreak and all the people it affected," Clark stated. "That they can reduce these inspectors and safety programs and no one will notice. Something terrible happened to me and my family. We're not special. If the federal government does not maintain adequate safety oversight and inspection it could happen again to anyone's family."
The union is concerned these cuts could unravel important improvements to Canada's food safety over the past few years and potentially threaten access to U.S. markets for Canadian producers.
"US regulators pushed the government of Canada to increase the presence of food safety inspectors in plants producing for export to the US. Ottawa's current plans to cut funding the CFIA needs to meet US inspection requirements will send warning signals to regulators south of the border," Kingston said.
The union announced it is launching a campaign to recruit major players in Canada's food industry to oppose these cuts, starting with Maple Leaf Foods, the company at the centre of the 2008 outbreak. The online campaign at www.foodsafetyfirst.ca features an action centre anyone can use to send a message to food industry leaders urging them to get on board.
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