Pat's Notes: Events in Canada closely match those in the UK and should
be noted.

Their C.Diff and MRSA epidemics have already spilled over the border
and now they have a couple of cases of listeria in Niagara.

Then this news. They have had to admit it, it was all in writing.

The Americans were already very suspicious of Canadian pigs,
investigative journalists were already on the case suspecting secret
Canadian involvement in some of the importers of live pigs from north
or the border.

The simple fact is that Canada mirrors Britain with identical problems
coming a couple of years later. The full storm has yet to hit the US
but the clouds are gathering there too.

If Britain was moving out of trouble, there would be more hope, but we
are not. The pigs are still sick, the hospitals riddled with disease.

Let's be frank, Defra won't test the pigs because they don't want to
release the strains. If they release the strains, it will be traced
back to Britain and they will be blamed.

They did it. They put money before human lives. Canada also made some
stupid mistakes but nothing on the scale of Britain's misdemeanors.

We should now be putting human lives before the financial interests of
a gang of bent vets.

The fact that we don't, betrays a sick society run by sick people, in
all senses of the word "sick."

Sick Britain - Ripe for reform.


http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080829.wmeatcfia29/BNStory/National/home

Ottawa wanted U.S. to accept more lenient meat inspection regime
 Article  Video  Comments   BILL CURRY 

From Friday's Globe and Mail

August 29, 2008 at 4:37 AM EDT

OTTAWA — The Canadian government strongly opposed tougher U.S. rules
to prevent listeria and lobbied the United States to accept Canada's
more lenient standards, internal documents reveal.

Briefing notes prepared by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency for an
April 7, 2006, meeting with the board of directors of the Canadian
Meat Council outline how both industry and the Canadian government
were frustrated with the increased precautions the United States was
demanding.

Specifically, Canada opposed daily inspection visits and the testing
of finished products for Listeria monocytogenes.

Further, the documents show the CFIA agreed to the meat packing and
processing industry's request to end a 20-year-old practice of having
inspectors issue reports and rankings on facilities. The Canadian Meat
Council complained the reports were ending up in the hands of
reporters through the Access to Information Act, leading to bad
coverage.

Jim Laws, the executive director of the council, which represents
Canada's meat packers and processors, said yesterday that he believes
he attended the meeting. 

He said Canada dropped the inspection reports and rankings as part of
a host of changes brought in on March 31.

"It was an archaic way of rating plants that was not logical," he
said. "Part of the concern was that this information, it was available
to the public ... it was indeed causing our members some grief."

Mr. Laws said the industry has always lobbied for Canada to adopt the
U.S. standards to avoid having two sets of rules.

The government documents indicate Canada's meat producers were
frustrated that they must add more stringent safeguards to their
production lines when producing meat for export to the U.S. market.

"Industry would prefer a single set of standards for both the Canadian
and American market," states the document prepared by Dr. Richard
Arsenault of the CFIA, anticipating what meat council board members
would tell CFIA at the meeting. "[The CMC] will also express their
frustration about the recent [United States Department of Agriculture]
imposition of product testing for Listeria monocytogenes and of daily
visits in U.S.-eligible meat processing plants."

Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz, who is responsible for the CFIA,
hinted this week that Canada might move toward U.S. practices of
preventing listeria, such as the pasteurization of packaged meat. But
the documents reveal the CFIA lobbied the United States to adopt
Canada's rules.

"The CFIA is working at bilateral levels to convince the USDA that its
system is equivalent to theirs in order to minimize the need for extra
import rules," the document says.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has not backed down from its
requirement that all producers of ready-to-eat meat must pasteurize or
boil products in the package to kill Listeria monocytogenes, add
chemicals to prevent the bacteria, or allow more rigorous plant
inspections. It was unclear yesterday which option Maple Leaf took to
comply with U.S. standards.

However, it does not appear those higher U.S. standards were enough to
prevent the current outbreak.

Canadian plants approved to ship to the U.S., which include the Maple
Leaf plant in Toronto that was the source of the outbreak, must meet
the USDA standards. The CFIA said yesterday that products from that
plant are the same regardless of whether they are for Canadian or U.S.
consumers. 

Paul Mayers, associate vice-president of the Canadian Food Inspection
Agency, acknowledged there is a different standard for Canadian meat
plants that aren't approved to ship to the United States.

"There are some additional requirements that may come into play in
relation to export certification of products," he said, but insisted
all meat in Canada is safe. "We focus on a single level of hygiene and
safety for all consumers of products produced in Canada."

The briefing notes were obtained by researcher Ken Rubin through the
Access to Information Act and outline Canada's objections to the U.S.
rules, which were imposed in response to a deadly listeria outbreak in
1998.

"The CFIA does not agree with this [USDA] approach, and disagrees with
a number of specific USDA requirements (e.g., daily visits, finished
product testing for Listeria monocytogenes), [but] it has implemented
the required changes to maintain Canada's access to the important U.S.
market. The CFIA will only be successful in convincing the USDA to
return to previous arrangements if Canadian operators can demonstrate
that they are operating in full compliance with all USDA rules," it
states.

In addition, the document indicates the industry successfully lobbied
to end inspection reports and rankings of its facilities.

"The [Canadian Meat Council] has sought changes to the existing system
because ratings and reports are used by the media through the Access
to Information Act ... and there is a misperception that products
coming from a 'B' or 'marginally acceptable' facility are less safe."
***

By the numbers

29 

Confirmed cases of listeriosis across Canada (22 in Ontario, four in
British Columbia, one in Saskatchewan, two in Quebec) 

15

Deaths associated with the outbreak strain (12 in Ontario, one in
British Columbia, one in Saskatchewan, one in Quebec). In eight of
these cases, all in Ontario, listeriosis has been identified as the
underlying or contributing cause of death. Others are under
investigation.

36

Suspected cases under investigation (19 in Ontario, one in British
Columbia, five in Alberta, one in Manitoba, 10 in Quebec)

Source: Public Health Agency 

of Canada

-- 
Regards
Pat Gardiner
Release the results of testing British pigs for MRSA and C.Diff now!
www.go-self-sufficient.com  and http://animal-epidemics.blogspot.com/

On Fri, 29 Aug 2008 10:24:01 +0100, Pat Gardiner
 wrote:

>Pat's Notes: Events in Canada closely match those in the UK and should
>be noted.
>
>Their C.Diff and MRSA epidemics have already spilled over the border
>and now they have a couple of cases of listeria in Niagara.
>
>Then this news. They have had to admit it, it was all in writing.
>
>The Americans were already very suspicious of Canadian pigs,
>investigative journalists were already on the case suspecting secret
>Canadian involvement in some of the importers of live pigs from north
>or the border.
>
>The simple fact is that Canada mirrors Britain with identical problems
>coming a couple of years later. The full storm has yet to hit the US
>but the clouds are gathering there too.
>
>If Britain was moving out of trouble, there would be more hope, but we
>are not. The pigs are still sick, the hospitals riddled with disease.
>
>Let's be frank, Defra won't test the pigs because they don't want to
>release the strains. If they release the strains, it will be traced
>back to Britain and they will be blamed.
>
>They did it. They put money before human lives. Canada also made some
>stupid mistakes but nothing on the scale of Britain's misdemeanors.
>
>We should now be putting human lives before the financial interests of
>a gang of bent vets.
>
>The fact that we don't, betrays a sick society run by sick people, in
>all senses of the word "sick."
>
>Sick Britain - Ripe for reform.
>
>
>http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080829.wmeatcfia29/BNStory/National/home
>
>Ottawa wanted U.S. to accept more lenient meat inspection regime
> Article  Video  Comments   BILL CURRY 
>
>From Friday's Globe and Mail
>
>August 29, 2008 at 4:37 AM EDT
>
Pat's Note: This is obviously going to become a major issue in
international trade. The impact will be felt in Britain.

CFIA fought tough inspection rules

Documents show CFIA opposed daily inspection visits and the testing of
finished products, Globe reports

By The Canadian Press

Fri. Aug 29 - 9:50 AM

OTTAWA — The Globe and Mail is reporting that the Canadian government
strongly opposed tougher U.S. rules to prevent listeria and lobbied
the United States to accept Canada's more lenient standards. 

The newspaper says briefing notes prepared by the Canadian Food
Inspection Agency for a 2006 meeting with the board of directors of
the Canadian Meat Council outline how both industry and the Canadian
government were frustrated with the increased precautions the United
States was demanding. 

Specifically, Canada opposed daily inspection visits and the testing
of finished products for Listeria monocytogenes. 

The documents show industry members lobbied to stop reporting on and
ranking meat processing plants, and that the CFIA agreed to grant the
request. 

The Globe report comes in the midst of a nation-wide listeriosis
outbreak that has killed at least eight people so far and raised
questions about food safety standards 

The outbreak has been linked to meat produced at a Maple Leaf Foods
plant in Toronto, a facility that has been approved to ship products
to the U.S. 

Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz, who is responsible for the CFIA,
hinted this week that Canada might move toward U.S. practices of
preventing listeria, such as the pasteurization of packaged meat. But
the Globe says the documents reveal the CFIA lobbied the United States
to adopt Canada's rules. 

"The CFIA is working at bilateral levels to convince the USDA that its
system is equivalent to theirs in order to minimize the need for extra
import rules," the document says. 

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has not backed down from its
requirement that all producers of ready-to-eat meat must pasteurize or
boil products in the package to kill Listeria monocytogenes, add
chemicals to prevent the bacteria, or allow more rigorous plant
inspections. 

-- 
Regards
Pat Gardiner
Release the results of testing British pigs for MRSA and C.Diff now!
www.go-self-sufficient.com  and http://animal-epidemics.blogspot.com/