Panel finds ‘relaxed attitude’ towards mandatory procedures amongst plant management, CFIA staff in Brooks
It was preventable. That was the conclusion of the independent expert panel’s review of last fall’s massive beef recall of beef from the former XL Foods meat-processing plant at Brooks. The panel also found a “weak food safety culture” and “relaxed attitude” at the plant, now operated by JBS.
On June 5 in the House of Commons, federal Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz tabled the report prepared by Dr. Ronald Lewis, Dr. Andrew Corriveau and Dr. Ronald Usborne, the independent panel formed to investigate the recall that saw about 4,000 tonnes of beef and beef products recalled from Canadian and international markets and 18 people become ill after contact with E. coli 157.
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“It must be said that, overall, the incident revealed some of the strengths of Canada’s food safety system… but it also revealed several weaknesses,” the report said.
Operations at the plant were examined as part of the review, and the panel found both the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) staff and plant management shared a “relaxed attitude towards mandatory procedures.”
The panel said, “We found that responsibilities towards food safety programs were not always met — by both plant staff and CFIA officials on site.”
There was no evidence that XL Foods was analyzing root causes of “high-event periods” (HEP) or times when sample testing came back positive for the presence of E. coli 157 in data dating back to January 2012, the panel said.
A single source of contamination, such as a piece of equipment, is suggested by the fact that an identical E. coli 157 clone was found in products from various dates, the report said. “It is the panel’s view that, had XL Foods Inc. analyzed its E. coli 157 sampling data and responded appropriately to HEPs in late August, the contaminated shipments would likely have been contained and not left the plant.”
The CFIA should have been noticing shortcomings earlier, the panel said.
Recommendations
In addition to its in-depth review of how the recall happened and how it was handled, the panel issued 30 recommendations covering ways to strengthen prevention strategies and regulatory oversight, improve surveillance and trend analysis, strengthen incident management and recall response and improve food safety communication with the public and stakeholders.
Ritz said the government would act on all of the recommendations, announcing $16 million over the next three years to create new inspection verification teams that will conduct unannounced spot checks at federally inspected plants across Canada. Many other recommendations are being addressed in the Safe Food for Canadians Action Plan announced May 17, Ritz said. “Canadian families must have confidence in the food safety system.”
The recommendations all have value, said Jim Laws, executive director of the Canadian Meat Council, which represents federally inspected meat packers and processors. “Everybody takes this pretty seriously because this can mean the end of your business,” he said.
Rich Smith, executive director of the Alberta Beef Producers, welcomed what he thought was a thorough review.
“We as an industry were asking for a complete review and it looks like that’s what they did,” Smith said, noting his organization and the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association are supporting research aimed at improving food safety, including the CCA’s renewed calls for beef irradiation approval.
While Aaron Brower, president of the Western Stock Grower’s Association, thought the panel’s report was well done, he hopes to see action. “Reports are reports and they have to be followed through and implemented to have any effect,” Brower said.
The impact of the recall is still being felt by the industry in general and cattle feeders in particular, said Bryan Walton, CEO of the Alberta Cattle Feeders’ Association. The association commissioned a report from the George Morris Centre that showed between $16 million and $27 million of marketing-related losses as a result of the recall. “We don’t believe it should have ever got to a point where the plant was closed. The damage is done now. We’ve lost a Canadian owner, we’ve lost a bid,” he said.
Walton questioned the need for more inspectors if people in the plants are doing their jobs, but supports more food safety oversight.
Ellen Goddard, a professor and co-operative chair of Agricultural Marketing and Business in the University of Alberta’s faculty of agricultural, life and environmental sciences, complimented the report’s focus on data analysis and the lack of co-ordination in communication. “I thought it was great they focused on that,” Goddard said.
While supporting the recommendations, she noted many E. coli infections can often be prevented by cooking meat thoroughly and washing produce when preparing food.
