July 15, 2008
Sarah Schmidt
Canwest News Service
OTTAWA - Canada's food processing industry says the government is getting rid of one of the most effective hammers it has to keep companies from making outrageous claims or providing incomplete ingredient and nutritional information to consumers.
The plan to kill a requirement of companies to get all labels approved for meat and processed fruit and vegetable products before they get to market is a bad idea, according to the Food Processors of Canada.
"We feel like the government should invest more resources behind it because it's one of the best enforcement tools they've got," said president Christopher Kyte. "Instead of playing Russian roulette with the Canadian public, why don't we get it right the first time?"
The plan to eliminate the pre-market label approval system is part of a sweeping plan at the Canadian Food Inspection Agency to turn over key parts of food inspection to industry, including the inspection of animal feed mills, meat and meat products.
The government approved the plan last November as part of its strategic review of the agency's budget, but an announcement of the details, contained in a confidential document obtained by Canwest News Service, has yet to be made "owing to significant communications risks."
Until now, the agency has cleared meat and processed fruit and vegetable products for sale in Canada only after reviewing their labels to make sure ingredients and nutrition particulars and other claims are accurate and legal.
"It forces everybody to get their labels right the first time, so you're not playing cops and robbers in the marketplace. For consumers, that's a really good idea," said Kyte.
The food inspection agency vigourously defended the overall "modernization" plan on Monday, saying food safety and the health of Canadians are not being compromised.
"The commitment to food safety in no way is being diminished. In fact, we're finding ways to go further than we ever have before," Brian Evans, the agency's executive vice-president and chief veterinary officer, said in an interview.
The money saved from the agency's strategic review - a total of $74.7 million over three years - will be reallocated within the agency to deal with emerging risks in a more efficient way, including more targeted testing for bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE, or mad cow disease) in high-risk animals, said Evans.
"There's no effort here to reduce inspection capability. It's really about making our inspection resources as effective as possible."
The underlying principle of the coming refinements to food inspection is a sound one, Evans added.
"They do have to take into account the reality that industry itself has a significant responsibility for the safety of products that it produces. In many cases, industry do have standards that exceed government and international standards for their suppliers. They have a very vested interest in making sure they are not subject to food recalls."
Evans said the agency will continue to audit and verify inspection plans by the food industry that identify potential safety hazards and take steps to reduce or eliminate the risk under the internationally recognized system known as Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points.
Rob McNabb, general manager for the Canadian Cattlemen's Association, says any further integration of the inspection procedure in the meat processing system isn't of concern because "the business model is to ensure and maintain and increase demand for the product. You don't do that by starting to take short cuts."
Besides, said McNabb, "CFIA is not going to allow any slippage. They will still be responsible for providing the oversight and ultimate assurance. Government is still going to be ultimately accountable."
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