According to a new Abacus Data survey commissioned by their union, some 55 percent of the food safety workers for the Canadian Food Inspection Agency say that current staffing levels are insufficient and 70 percent think a major food illness is likely soon.
The survey of the 580 inspectors found that they feel the staffing shortages are most acute in meat processing plants.
The survey notes that some food plants do not even get inspected : Daily presence of inspection staff in meat processing plants, a safety requirement for establishments producing for both Canadian and foreign consumer, is a reality for only a small
minority (27%) working in the meat hygiene program who report there are enough staff for this practice to always be in place. More than half (57%) report sufficient staff to provide daily presence sometimes, while 13% report it rarely happens and 4% say it never happens
Some 25 percent of respondants to the survey also said they had been asked by a manager to stop doing “required food-related tasks” and most felt this was directly tied to the fact there were not enough inspectors to do all the food related tasks.
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) released a statement in response to the survey saying Canada’s food inspection system as one of the best in the world.
The statement also said, “While no food system can guarantee zero risk, the CFIA’s comprehensive approach to inspection ensures that its resources are focused where the risk is highest and verifies the industry is producing safe food for consumers”.
The former Conservative government had cut the CFIA budget by $56 million. The union is calling on the Liberal government to make good on its promise to increase funding to the CFIA by $80 million over four years.
These latest concerns come just a month after the US Department of Agriculture issued an audit saying “operation weaknesses related to government oversight, plant sanitation and microbiological testing”.
The CFIA soon responded that all issues were corrected and overall the quality of Canadian food inspections is equivalent to that of the US
additional information- sources
For reasons beyond our control, and for an undetermined period of time, our comment section is now closed. However, our social networks remain open to your contributions.