Moving Forward on Food Safety
Action on Listeria

Updates - Continuous improvement

Introduction

The safety of Canada's food supply is a responsibility shared by government, industry, and consumers. The CFIA's role within the food safety system is to verify that industry provides safe products to consumers and recalls those products that pose risks.

In the summer of 2008, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA), in collaboration with provincial and federal health authorities, responded to a listeriosis outbreak linked to ready-to-eat meats produced by Maple Leaf Foods.

As soon as illnesses were linked to a food source, the CFIA issued recall notices for all potentially-affected products. At the plant where the meat was produced, the CFIA conducted a thorough investigation, oversaw the implementation of corrective measures, and verified the resumption of safe operations.

The CFIA has a regulatory responsibility for continuous improvement. With this in mind, the CFIA has examined the listeriosis outbreak and the systems in place to mitigate food safety risks. The CFIA is dedicated to the task of enhancing Canada's food safety system as a result of the outbreak and is implementing a range of initiatives to address the findings from these reviews. Some measures have already been completed while others are currently underway.

These measures include:

• improving food safety control in federally-registered plants that produce ready-to-eat meat products, by:
  • directing industry to aggressively and thoroughly clean slicing equipment;
  • enhancing CFIA oversight of sanitation and equipment maintenance including onsite observation by inspectors of equipment being dismantled and properly cleaned in those plants;
  • reviewing company records of finished product and environmental test results on a daily basis;
  • analysing trends in positive environmental test results which would flag any potential problems early so that immediate corrective actions can be taken; and
  • completing a review of cleaning and sanitation programs used in all federally registered ready-to-eat meat plants to control bacteria and other foodborne diseases.
• instituting new requirements for the control of Listeria in federally-registered ready-to-eat meat processing plants, including:
  • mandatory environmental testing in all plants by plant operators,
  • mandatory immediate reporting of positive findings of Listeria to the CFIA, and
  • additional environmental and end-product testing for Listeria by the CFIA.
• implementing a number of enhancements to CFIA laboratory procedures, including enhancing communication between CFIA/HC and PHAC laboratories and introducing a screening method for Listeria monocytogenes in meat which allows for reporting of negative results in only five days. However, suspect samples or positives still require seven to 10 days.
• updating the Meat Hygiene Manual of Procedures, the comprehensive document that guides inspection staff in their daily tasks.
• convening an Academic Advisory Panel to provide expert advice on a variety of topics. One of the first key tasks of the Panel was to review and comment on the new Listeria control requirements.
• partnering with federal partners to identify new and better ways to deliver food safety messages to the public during outbreaks.
• continuing to work with all players in the food safety system - producers, processors, other levels of government and consumers - to improve the overall protection of our food supply.

The CFIA is also cooperating fully in the work of the Prime Minister's independent investigation and with the Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food's food safety subcommittee.

Additional information on the August 2008 listeriosis outbreak

• Independent Investigation of the Listeriosis Outbreak
• Public warnings and recalled products
• Lessons Learned Reports

Presentations - Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food Subcommittee on Food Safety

• Carole Swan, President of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency
• Dr. Brian Evans, Executive Vice-President of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency