Meat sold in Canada not inspected as well as exports: union

jamesl专砍一$党

建议大家肉食品一定要煮熟了。

UPDATED11:54 AM MT
CBC News
Cuts to Canada's food inspection programs have created a "double standard," where meat sold to Canadians is not as well inspected than that destined for export, according to the union that represents inspectors.

"These are more than just numbers on paper," Agriculture Union president Bob Kingston said.

"Lives are at risk, [there's] the real likelihood that people will die. And I hope they wake up to this."

At a news conference in Edmonton today, Kingston said since January, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) has quietly rolled back inspections at meat plants in northern Alberta. Increased inspections were put in place following a 2008 listeriosis outbreak tied to Maple Leaf Foods products, which resulted in 22 deaths.

"There's no public debate. There isn't even an industry debate about what's going on. It's the rollback of those commitments to protect Canadians," he said.

He said the CFIA has cut the presence of inspectors in facilities from five days a week to three – but only in plants that produce meat for the domestic market. The presence of inspectors in plants inspecting for export have stayed the same.

"With available resources that CFIA has, the only way they can meet American inspection standards in order to maintain access to the U.S. market is to shortchange inspection of meat for Canadian consumers,” Kingston said.

"It's really that simple."

Lilydale reduces inspections
The news conference was held less than a week after the CFIA announced a recall of chicken products in Western Canada and Ontario over fears of Listeria contamination.

Marianne Hladun, a vice-president with Public Service Alliance of Canada, said the chicken came from an Edmonton Lilydale plant, which was one of the facilities with reduced inspections

"CFIA officials are candid to us about the reason. It's all about money, or rather, the lack of it, she said."

Kingston said the CFIA has also cut sanitation inspections by 50 per cent and pre-operation inspections by 30 per cent, changes that affect plants producing for both domestic and international markets. He said those changes affect the parts of the process responsible for the majority of outbreaks.

The problem is not confined to northern Alberta. Meat plants in Calgary and Lethbridge, Alta., often work without enough inspectors to properly inspect the meat, according to the union. Kingston called on the federal government to boost funding for food inspections in the next budget.

"This government has talked a lot about protecting Canadians," he said.

"This is serious stuff."

CFIA has not responded to a request for comment.

克 飞

MAPLE LEAF 肉食吃死几十人, 没有一个人负责, 我算领教加拿大对企业和部门领导的纵容。。。不过我却是屡屡听到一些华人饭店被当地投诉而歇业。。。好象一告一个准.。。。这些法律和标准不知从那儿来的.