FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                              JULY 11, 2000

OTTAWA - "The Canadian government’s move to entrust meat inspection to the industry and limit itself to inspecting only its processing methods, could jeopardize the safety of our food and increase the risks of E. coli bacteria and salmonellosis contamination," says Yves Ducharme, president of Agriculture Union, a Component of the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC). "This move by the government is tantamount to asking the fox to guard the henhouse. We believe that if these changes to the meat inspection regulations are adopted, contamination such as E.coli bacteria or salmonella could increase considerably."

The government intends to implement new regulations over the next few months, whereby federally regulated meat plants will no longer be subject to the current provisions of the legislation, which call for each complete or partial carcass to be inspected by a designated inspector. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) inspectors would cease to be responsible for those inspections. Their task will be to monitor the process and the work of the "defects detectors".

"Such ‘detectors’ would be plant employees responsible for checking whether the animal is fit for human consumption," explains Yves Ducharme. "However, their training - two to four weeks - will clearly be insufficient compared to the two years required for a CFIA inspector. Furthermore, how can one believe these ‘detectors’, salaried plant workers, would have the autonomy to stop plant production if they see problems? The Walkerton tragedy has shown how the absence of a specialist on site can increase the risks."

"In addition," adds Ducharme, "the government is increasingly offloading the responsibility of food safety directly onto consumers. We are asked to cook meat properly, to make sure to wash our hands when handling meat; but, if the inspection processes were strengthened instead of being relaxed, much contamination would be avoided. The CFIA inspectors are finding it more and more difficult to control the packing process because their responsibilities are being eroded."

The U.S. government, which attempted to implement an industry self-inspection system, was forced by an appeal court to review its plan a few weeks ago. The American legislation, as is the case with the Canadian legislation, effectively states that each carcass must be inspected by a government inspector. But, unlike the United States, the legislative changes being considered by the Canadian government would allow the latter to circumvent this pitfall.

The Agriculture Union represents the 1,000 meat inspectors who work for the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, and a total of 6,500 members who work for the Agency and various federal departments, agencies or commissions.

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