Canada's double standard

From K-State's Food Safety Network. Some of the same concerns about imports exist north of the border:


The Daily Bulletin (Kimberley)Carly Weeks Andy Terauds runs his 100-acre farm like the captain of a ship.Neat rows with dozens of varieties of lettuce, strawberries, onions and nearly 60 other crops are planted and picked by hand. Irrigation tubes connected to a small pond run through fields of pumpkins and squash insulated by sheets of clear plastic to provide the optimal growing temperature.None of his four staff members is permitted to work in the field if they are feeling sick. Under Canadian industry rules, Terauds can't enter his greenhouse with his glasses or pens in his front shirt pocket. He also has to remove his watch, which is considered a safety hazard because the glass face could break and fall onto his tomatoes.Five government inspectors have visited his farm on the outskirts of Ottawa so far this year, including one unannounced inspection to test his broccoli field for bugs that are invading the area.Terauds, who has been selling fresh produce for 26 years, was quoted as saying, "The rules are ridiculous. They're extremely strict to the point of ridiculous."Yet, only a small fraction of the billions worth of fruits and vegetables that are imported into Canada every year from other countries, including those that may have lower safety standards, are ever inspected by the government -- creating, what the story says is a double standard that frustrates Canadian producers and may put consumers at risk.With news of tainted food, counterfeit products and bacteria-laden produce dominating the headlines in recent months, many Canadian farmers say they're fed up with having to play by the government's strict rules while foreign producers are allowed to dump cheap, low-quality -- and sometimes, even dangerous -- goods on the Canadian market without being inspected or having to prove their operations are safe.Terauds was further quoted as saying, "I think the aspect of it that is unfair is they rely on the other government and other people that are importing food into Canada to comply with universal safety requirements. Are they doing it? Nobody knows. Obviously, some groups aren't. The Chinese come to mind right away."Canada's farming industry says it doesn't make sense that domestic growers must comply with strict standards and safety regulations while a majority of food imports from countries that may have inferior standards or are more likely to have unhygienic growing practices is never inspected.Heather Gale, food safety co-ordinator at the Canadian Horticultural Council, was quoted as saying, "The perspective that our members take is that the food safety standards that are demanded of Canadian suppliers should apply equally to any products coming into Canada."Grocery stores in Canada depend heavily on the federal government to ensure products coming into the country are safe (what about those from inside the country? - dp)John Scott, president of the Canadian Federation of Independent Grocers, was quoted as saying, "If it's coming from offshore, we have to rely on the science-based standards of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency and the work they do. The retailer themselves can't certify that a product coming in from wherever isn't safe."The Canadian Food Inspection Agency, responsible for regulating food imports, says it is struggling to handle the onslaught of foreign products. The increasing presence of foreign products has created enormous new challenges in making sure food is safe -- and dealing with problems once they arise.Rene Cardinal, acting national manager for the CFIA's fresh fruit and vegetable program was quoted as saying, "The proportion is different. If a small farm has problems in terms of their food safety system, the farm will call it an outbreak but it will be localized and may go unnoticed as opposed to a big farm that produces 10 times as much, if not 20 times as much produce as the small farms and will contaminate more people."The story says that the CFIA rarely sends anyone to check operations in foreign countries to see if they're safe and clean, except when there is a problem or outbreak of food-borne illness Another reality is that Canada imports food from countries that may have less stringent standards and regulations, which increases the risk to the public (what are those stringent Canadian standards? -- dp)Cardinal was further quoted as saying, "You have imported produce all over the place. Some developed countries may not have the same hygiene system in place that we do have. These are the contributing factors."The story goes on to say that Canadian farmers say the best way consumers can ensure they're eating safe food is to purchase it directly from the grower, rather than buying products from an industrial farm where the sheer size and scope of operations makes it difficult to catch problems with the food supply.Terauds was quoted as saying, "I know if they're sick that morning. I know if they're going to wash their hands after they've gone to the washroom and all those nice other things. If you've got 250 people working for you like a lot of these big places do, how do you know who's doing what? Are you going to follow everyone in to the can? You can't do it."