AGRI Committee Report

A National Approach to Food Safety

Under the different powers given to them by the Constitution, the federal and the provincial/territorial governments have authority over various aspects of food safety, and in some cases the provinces delegate that authority to the municipalities.

At the federal level, the Food and Drugs Act provides the foundation of Canada’s food safety system. It derives its authority from the federal power to legislate in the area of criminal law and requires that all food sold in the country be fit for human consumption. Some products (dairy products, shell or processed eggs, fresh or processed fruits and vegetables, honey, maple syrup, beef, pork, poultry and fish) are also covered by separate Acts of Parliament, enacted under the federal jurisdiction over trade and commerce. For instance:

·         Canadian establishments that process and distribute these products across the country or internationally must register with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) in order to operate. Consequently, establishments that trade in these products are referred to as “federally registered establishments.”

·         Importers or foreign processing establishments may be subject to enhanced import controls, such as audits of importer quality systems, inspection of foreign establishments, etc.

·         All other food establishments are referred to as “non-federally registered establishments” and are subject to an inspection system different from that for federally registered establishments.

Provinces and territories are also involved in protecting the safety of the food supply, as described in the December 2000 Report of the Auditor General of Canada:[1]

Under their public health and trade mandates, the provinces’ and territories’ jurisdiction extends to all food manufactured and sold within their borders. Provincial governments regulate not only food retailers and services, such as restaurants, but also requirements for all food premises, including federally registered establishments. For example, most provinces regulate the construction standards and basic sanitary requirements of certain establishments within their borders. In some provinces, municipal governments also enforce regulations.

The Federal/Provincial/Territorial Food Safety Committee (FPTFSC), composed of government officials from health and agriculture ministries across Canada, coordinates the development of national food safety policy options, implements initiatives to achieve national food safety goals and priorities, and enhances accountability for food safety in general. It is a forum for discussing science issues, concerns about technical barriers to interprovincial trade, and agri-food inspection policies and programs.

Despite the fact that jurisdiction over food safety is divided among the different levels of government, Canadians, no matter where they reside or purchase their food, are entitled to the same assurances about its safety, assurances that should be based on common standards and expectations. The Subcommittee was told that federal, provincial and territorial food safety officials have been discussing the development of a national food safety strategy since at least 2003. Last February, the agriculture ministers also requested a Food Safety Action Plan. Governments at all levels, the agri-food industry, and other stakeholders should be invited to participate in and facilitate the development of an integrated, co-ordinated, and national approach to food safety policy and regulation based on sound scientific risk assessment and risk management principles and on international standards.

Responsibility in the Food Supply Chain

In the aftermath of the deadly listeriosis outbreak in the summer of 2008, Michael McCain, President of Maple Leaf Foods Inc., accepted full responsibility for the distribution of contaminated meat. Mr. McCain repeated before the Subcommittee that his company failed in its efforts to protect consumers and was responsible for the deaths of 22 Canadians:[2]

 [W]e did take responsibility and accountability for this, because it occurred in our plant, on our watch, with Canadian consumers eating our product. We have an obligation to produce a safe product, and it's an obligation we've held very close for over 100 years. We had systems and protocols in place that we felt were best practice, and they failed us. So accountability and responsibility for that series of events does rest very squarely on our shoulders as an organization, and I'm personally accountable for that organization, so that rests very squarely on my shoulders.

While Michael McCain clearly accepted full responsibility for the listeriosis outbreak, it should also be noted that there is a general understanding that food safety does not solely reside in one person’s hands. The food supply chain, from farmers to consumers, is highly fragmented among many stakeholders, and while we can sometimes pinpoint exactly the source of a food safety problem, hazards can originate anywhere in the food production continuum. In its December 2000 report, the Auditor General of Canada stated that:[3]

Responsibility for safe food lies with all those involved in food, from production through to consumption:

• farmers must produce safe food, and fishers must catch and handle fish safely;
• food processors, wholesalers and distributors must comply with established standards;
• all levels of government must verify compliance with these standards; and
• consumers must handle food properly.

This approach is shared by many countries. According to European Union laws, for example, food operators have primary responsibility for food safety while inspectors play an active role in overseeing compliance. In that sense, producer accountability is a proactive approach that focuses on prevention. Mr. James Hodges, Executive Vice-President of the American Meat Institute, also told members that this vision is shared in the United States:

[T]he ultimate responsibility for producing safe food rests with the manufacturer. The government, whether it be in the United States or Canada, does not manufacture food. They have a very important role in the oversight of setting appropriate standards to protect the public health and they have to have vigorous oversight to ensure that those standards are met.[4]

Witnesses representing the Canadian food processing industry agreed that they have a responsibility to produce safe food. Subcommittee members, however, questioned the CFIA as to whether it should not also claim partial responsibility for the listeriosis crisis, as it is the agency responsible for ensuring compliance of safety standards by food manufacturers. CFIA, as well as Health Canada and the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC), indicated that they consider food safety a responsibility shared among the three federal organizations and that government’s basic responsibility is to set the standards for safe food, to monitor compliance and to hold industry accountable when it fails to produce safe products. The Food and Drugs Act and other federal statutes such as the Meat Inspection Act give these powers to the federal government. It is within this context that the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, the Honourable Gerry Ritz, stated that “the Government of Canada accepts its share of responsibility for what happened last summer.”[5]