OTTAWA, December 19, 2011: The federal
government has released its final report on actions taken to
respond to the recommendations by Ms. Sheila Weatherill in
the Report of the Independent Investigator into the 2008
Listeriosis Outbreak.
"Food safety is a priority for this Government," said
Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz. "We continue to work with
consumers, producers, industry and our provincial and territorial
partners to ensure that our food safety system remains one of the
best in the world."
the report - "Action on Weatherill Report Recommendations to
Strengthen the Food Safety System: Final Report To
Canadians" - outlines the Government's plan to reduce
food safety risks, to enhance surveillance and early detection
of foodborne pathogens and illnesses, and to improve
emergency response.
"We have taken concrete action to improve how we detect
and respond to foodborne illness outbreaks," said Health
Minister Leona Aglukkaq."From stronger response plans with our food
safety partners to using innovative technologies in our labs,
we are better prepared to protect the health of
Canadians."
In 2009, the federal government committed to act on all of
Ms. Weatherill's recommendations. The final report highlights
the actions taken to strengthen the food safety system,
including:
- Identifying and fast-tracking the approval of food safety
interventions such as food additives that reduce the growth of
Listeria monocytogenes and other pathogens.
- Hiring 170 additional full-time inspectors to increase CFIA's
presence in federally registered meat processing plants.
- Developing new detection methods for Listeria and
other hazards in food that reduce testing time and enable more
rapid response during food safety investigations.
- Using innovative laboratory technologies in outbreak
investigations and expanding the outbreak detection lab
network to include public health and food safety
partners across Canada.
- Supporting national public health surveillance to
improve collection, reporting and analysis of a wide range of
health information.
- Providing Canadians, including those most vulnerable, with
the information they need to reduce the risk of a foodborne
illness through a new online food safety portal and national
public information campaigns.
- Updating the Foodborne Illness Outbreak Response Protocol,
which guides how all levels of government work together to respond
to a national or international outbreak.
- Ensuring that health risk assessment teams are available
24/7 to support food safety investigations.
- Building surge capacity in order to respond more quickly
and effectively to potential future foodborne illness
outbreaks.
The final report can be found on the Government of
Canada's food safety portal at www.foodsafety.gc.ca