The food-waste debate could use a pinch of common sense

By macleans.ca - Monday, January 21, 2013 at 9:35 AM - 0 Comments

Tom Ryaboi

That banana looks a bit brown. The yogourt is past its “best before” date. And no one else is eating those end slices, so why should you?

In the typical Canadian kitchen, the banana, yogourt and the bread crusts—and a lot more besides—are prime candidates for the garbage can or composter. With food cheap and plentiful, we’ve regrettably become a nation of picky eaters. An estimated $27 billion worth of food, or 40 per cent of what’s produced annually in Canada, is wasted between field and table, according to a recent study from the George Morris Centre in Guelph, Ont. More than half of that occurs at home.

This is not just a Canadian concern. In 2011 the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations estimated 33 per cent of global food production, or 1.3 billion tonnes, is wasted per year. And last week, a report from the British Institution of Mechanical Engineers pushed that number up to an astounding 50 per cent—half of all food produced in the world is lost, misdirected or thrown away due to poor harvesting techniques, spoilage, inefficient distribution processes and overly dainty consumer preferences. Continue…

Lawsuit alleges Alberta beef plant put profits above safety of consumers

By The Canadian Press - Wednesday, October 3, 2012 at 7:41 PM - 0 Comments

EDMONTON – A lawsuit alleges the Alberta company involved in a massive national beef recall knew it had poor quality control systems and that it put profits above the safety of consumers.

The statement of claim against XL Foods Inc. has not been proven in court and a judge will determine if it may proceed as a class-action lawsuit.

An Edmonton man who got sick from E. coli after eating a steak on Sept. 5 is named as the lead plaintiff in the suit.

The document says Matthew Harrison, a 30-year-old realtor, suffered severe abdominal cramps, vomiting, headache, fever and diarrhea. He also spent three days in hospital.

“Somebody needs to be held accountable for this. The meat never should have left the plant,” Harrison said Wednesday.

XL Foods officials could not immediately be reached for comment.

Alberta health officials have linked four other cases of E. coli in the province to contaminated steaks processed by XL Foods. All the steaks were purchased from the same Costco store in Edmonton.

Officials are also investigating the source of another four E. coli cases in Alberta. And Saskatchewan officials are looking into 13 cases there.

“We’re getting more and more calls,” said lawyer Richard Mallett, who filed the suit Tuesday.

He said some people in British Columbia who got sick from E. coli believe XL Foods is to blame, although a link has not been confirmed.

“The people think that’s the only link that it could be.”

Mallett added the suit also is also available to people who didn’t get sick but purchased XL products and want a refund.

E. coli was first detected at the XL plant in Brooks, Alta., on Sept. 4, but it wasn’t until 12 days later that the Canadian Food Inspection Agency began recalling some of its beef products. Since then, several more alerts have been issued, recalling more than 1,500 XL products across Canada and in the United States.

The agency temporarily shut down the plant last Friday.

The suit alleges XL Foods failed to test its beef before putting it on the market and, when it learned people were getting sick, didn’t immediately recall all of its products.

It further claims the plant’s processing equipment and testing laboratory have not kept up with technological advances in the industry and not enough money has been spent on food safety staff.

“Despite having knowledge of the poor quality control with their Books plant, the defendant concealed this information from the consumers, the general public and regulatory authorities,” says the suit.

It further says the company wanted to maintain its revenue, profits, and market share and wished to avoid negative publicity.

Note to readers: This is a corrected story. A previous version said Edmonton man was defendant, not plaintiff.

Updated: Gerry Ritz heads to Alberta after E. coli outbreak

By Emily Senger - Wednesday, October 3, 2012 at 11:35 AM - 0 Comments

Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz is scheduled to visit Alberta Tuesday for the first time since an E. coli bacteria found at a meat-processing plant in Brooks, Alta. prompted the largest beef recall in Canadian history and made at least 10 people sick.

According to the Canadian Press, it is likely that Ritz will use the visit to the Calgary Canadian Food Inspection Agency lab to reassure the public that the federal government is working to improve food safety after more than 1,500 beef products have been recalled in both Canada and the U.S.

Ritz’s visit comes the day after an Edmonton man launched a class-action lawsuit against XL Foods, the company that owns the plant where the contamination occurred.

Matthew Harrison filed the lawsuit Tuesday, and told CBC News Edmonton that he was in the hospital for five days after eating a steak that he purchased at Costco, which came from the XL Foods plant.

“I missed a week of work,” the Edmonton real estate agent said. “I can only work four or five hours now, or I start to get kind of dizzy. You know, I didn’t eat for four or five days, and my body just hasn’t recuperated from that.”

Meanwhile, beef producers in southern Alberta, where the XL Foods plant remains closed, are worried about lower beef prices and decreased consumer confidence as a result of the recall, reports the Lethbridge Herald.

For the record, here’s a statement released by Ritz after the press conference:

Canadian consumers and their families have always been and will continue to be the Government of Canada’s first priority when it comes to food safety.
Our Government and all Canadians expect a strong food safety system. That’s why our Government is doing its part.
Our Government continues to provide the Canadian Food Inspection Agency with the resources it needs to help safeguard the health and safety of Canadians and their families.
Since 2006, our Government has provided significant funding to improve our food safety system.
Our Government has provided the resources to hire more than seven hundred additional inspectors, which includes one hundred and seventy meat inspectors.
This Government immediately accepted all fifty seven recommendations of the Weatherill Report and it’s why we have acted on all of them.
That’s why we will continue to make sure that the Canadian Food Inspection Agency has the resources it needs to do its important job of protecting Canadians and their families. It’s why our Government introduced the Safe Food for Canadians Act last spring.
It’s why I remain in constant contact with the leadership of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency to ensure they are fulfilling their responsibilities.
And it’s why I went to the XL Foods plant this morning.
I want to personally ensure that everyone – from the executive in Ottawa to the in-depth review team in Brooks – understand that the health and safety of Canadians is our first priority.
I saw first hand that the Canadian Food Inspection Agency has a full contingent of inspectors and staff – sampling, testing and examining all product and procedures in the plant.
In fact, the CFIA has deployed additional resources to the plant to ensure Canadian consumers and their families are protected.
While we understand that ranchers, farmers and industry need a strong processing sector, we all agree that the success of the industry must be founded on food safety.
That is why the XL Foods plant will only resume operation when the President of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency has confirmed in writing to me that the health of Canadians is not at risk.
We will continue to improve the food inspection system through the Safe Food for Canadians Act.
I hope that those in the House of Commons will pass the Safe Foods for Canadians Act expeditiously so that the food safety system is stronger.
Canadians can be assured that the Canadian Government will continue to be the chief defender of consumer health.
I want to assure Canadians that as Minister, I continue to be in constant contact with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency to make sure they are doing everything in their power to protect Canadian consumers and their families.
Canadian consumers are and will continue to be our first priority.