With the claim made
in the above press release that Canada's food safety system ranked world's best, the
following questions immediately come to mind:
- Why are so many food
recalls still reported in Canada?
- Does Canada have
fewer reported recalls than the other countries to which it was compared (Australia,
Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Japan,
Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, and the United States
of America)?
- What exactly is the
measure of a "world's best food safety system” in lieu of the goal of food
safety management system?
- Is how well food
safety failures are assessed, managed and communicated an acceptable and
sufficient indicator of success?
The boasting about
Canada’s food safety system appears to be based on the examination of the wrong
criteria. Even if interviewed Canadian consumers expressed confidence in the
strength of Canada's food system (should this be the claim by Minister of
Health Rona Ambrose), such expressions of confidence can be misleading. Interviewed
consumers may not have considered the full scope of health problems that are
linked to food while responding to the questions about how much confidence they
have in the Canadian food safety system. They may not even be aware of how many
food-related problems affect them directly. For example, how many stomach
upsets they have suffered in a given period, whether they have one of many chronic
conditions caused by food such as obesity, diabetes, heart problems, etc.
The
most appropriate measure of a successful food safety assurance system is the
actual absence of food-related health problems. Any legitimate claim about food
safety success must include real data to support at least a clear, consistent
and continuing reduction in food-related health problems. Anything else
constitutes an attempt to deceive.
Posted By Felix
Amiri
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