GHY Tradelines

(Stanley Lubman – WSJ)

If a diner in the U.S. consumes a lunch of tilapia, mushrooms and spinach, there’s a decent chance the entire meal was imported from China. And the overwhelming odds are that none of those foods were inspected by the Food and Drug Administration when they arrived in the U.S.

This week’s revelation that nearly half the rice sold in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou was found to be tainted with cadmium is just the latest in a long string of eye-catching stories that illustrate the dangers of eating in China. But lost in the exhaustive media coverage of the polluted foods that find their way on to Chinese tables are serious questions about what happens — or doesn’t happen — when Chinese food products make their way into the U.S.

Chinese food product imports to the U.S. are continuing to rise, but inspections in both China and the U.S. aren’t keeping pace, posing a growing danger to consumers. Many of the imports are used by restaurants, institutions and food processors; as a result, consumers see no labels, keeping them unaware of the origins of what they’re ingesting. Read more here.
 

(Liz Szabo – USA Today)

The Food and Drug Administration will conduct fewer food safety inspections this year because of the government sequester, commissioner Margaret Hamburg said Wednesday in an exclusive interview with USA TODAY.

While consumers may not feel the impact immediately, the loss of $209 million from its budget will force the agency to conduct about 2,100 fewer inspections, an 18% decline compared to last year.  The funding loss, part of the $85 billion in automatic budget cuts that took effect March 1, will also delay the agency’s implementation of the 2011 Food Safety Modernization Act, Hamburg said in an interview with the USA TODAY Editorial Board. Read more here.
 

(The Canadian Press)

The federal government has launched a review of the E. coli outbreak last fall that sickened 18 people and led to the largest beef recall in Canadian history.

The review is to focus on what contributed to the outbreak of the potentially deadly bacteria at the XL Foods Inc. plant in Brooks, Alta. It will also look at how well the Canadian Food Inspection Agency performed, including why tainted meat was distributed to retailers and sold to consumers.

Agriculture Canada said the review will be conducted by an independent panel of experts who are to hand in a report with recommendations to improve food safety.

“We take the safety of Canada’s food supply very seriously and we remain committed to the continuous improvement of Canada’s strong food safety systems,” Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz said in a news release Friday evening. Read more here.
 

(STR Trade Report)

The Food and Drug Administration has adopted without change a May 2011 interim final rule concerning administrative detentions of potentially adulterated or misbranded human or animal food. As specified by the Food Safety Modernization Act, this rule allows the FDA to order administrative detention of any article of food that is found during an inspection, examination or investigation if it has reason to believe that the article of food is adulterated or misbranded. Previously the FDA was only able to order such detentions if it found credible evidence or information indicating that the article of food presented a threat of serious adverse health consequences or death to humans or animals.

The FDA believes this authority will further help it to prevent potentially harmful food from reaching U.S. consumers. The agency noted in the interim final rule that it had never administratively detained an article of food despite having the authority to do so but that under the new criteria it is more likely to use administrative detention in situations where it might previously not have; e.g., where the use of or exposure to a violative product may cause temporary or medically reversible adverse health consequences or where the probability of serious adverse health consequences is remote.

In response to comments on the interim final rule the FDA has provided the following information.

• Decisions on whether the FDA has “reason to believe that an article of human or animal food is adulterated or misbranded” are fact-specific and will therefore be made on a case-by-case basis.

• The FDA will continue to use its advisory action tools, such as warning letters and untitled letters, to achieve voluntary compliance and voluntary corrective action to address adulteration or misbranding violations, as appropriate.

• Given the procedural and substantive differences between administrative detention and detention that occurs during import admissibility review, confusion between the two is unlikely; however, when the FDA gives written notice in either circumstance it will make clear which type of detention is involved.

• The FDA intends to issue notice of termination of administrative detention on the same day the decision is made whenever practicable. If the FDA fails to issue a termination notice and the detention period expires (a maximum of 30 days from the date the detention was ordered) the detention is deemed to be terminated.

• The responsibility for paying the storage costs of administratively detained food is a matter to be resolved between the private parties involved. An owner, operator or agent in charge of the place where the food is located can request modification of a detention order to allow the food to be moved or destroyed if they do not want to store it.
 

(CBC News – David McKie)

Coalition wants plug pulled on meat pre-clearance pilot project in wake of XL Foods recall

An internal Foreign Affairs memo expressed concern that U.S. “confidence in the Canadian food safety system” could be undermined in the wake of last fall’s XL Foods beef recall.

Josée De Menezes, the department’s acting director of the Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures Division, expressed that concern on Sept. 27 in a widely distributed departmental briefing note obtained under the Access to Information Act by CBC News Network’s Power & Politics.

Specifically, the note refers to a U.S. campaign to halt a meat pre-clearance pilot project that is part of the Canada-U.S. Beyond the Border initiative announced last year by Prime Minister Stephen Harper and U.S. President Barack Obama. The year-long pilot project was scheduled to begin in September, but CBC News has learned it has yet to get underway. Read more here.
 

(CBC News)

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency is reorganizing its delivery of expert advice to producers and consumers.

Federal Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz announced the changes Monday at a CFIA lab in Saskatoon, noting the government will create 16 information hubs for farmers, fishers and foresters needing advice on growing and selling their products.

Ritz explained that people in the various sectors want a more co-ordinated source of information, especially when it comes to trade rules and food safety. “What this does is gives industry and even consumers an opportunity to call in and ask questions from the experts in certain fields,” Ritz said. Read more here.
 

(Tom Karst — The Packer)

Providing more control over imports and boosting traceability expectations, Canada’s new food safety law is expected to bring new requirements to fresh produce operators in the U.S. and Canada.

The Canadian House of Commons has approved Canada’s new federal food safety law Bill S-11 on Nov. 26, and the plan was passed earlier by the Canadian Senate. It will become effective after the formality of “Royal Assent” is given.

In a summary of the new law, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency summarizes the major features of the law, which is focused on improved food safety oversight, streamlined legislative authorities and enhanced international market opportunities.

The law appears to be similar to the U.S. Food Safety Modernization Act, said David Acheson, former Food and Drug Administration associate commissioner for food protection and partner in Leavitt Partners, Washington, D.C.

“The potential risk on the U.S. side is what they are going to do about their import controls?” Acheson said. Read more here.
 

(CTV News)

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency says that XL Foods has met all the necessary requirements and has been given the go-ahead to resume operations.

The plant in Brooks had its licence suspended in September after E. coli was discovered by meat inspectors and later linked to 16 cases of illness across the country

The CFIA says the facility will gradually ramp up to full operating capacity. “Based on a full range of observations and testing we are confident that all issues have been fully addressed. We have provided that assurance to the minister,” said Paul Mayers, CFIA Associate VP of Programs. “Effective today the CFIA has reinstated the facilities operating licence.” Read more here.
 

(CFIA)

The Safe Food for Canadians Act, S-11, reached a key milestone today as it was adopted by the Senate. Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz and Senator Donald Plett highlighted the Safe Food for Canadians Act and the importance of passing it expeditiously so the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) has more tools and resources to help keep Canadian food safe. […]

Tabled in the Senate last spring, the Safe Food for Canadians Act modernizes and enhances the Canadian Food Inspection Agency’s approach to food safety. The new Act when adopted, will deliver more consistent inspection and enforcement authorities to the CFIA. Read more here.
 

(STR Trade Report)

The Government Accountability Office has issued a report reviewing the implementation of seven recommendations it made in 2006 concerning the Agricultural Quarantine Inspection program, which places agriculture inspectors at U.S. ports of entry to inspect imports and intercept foreign pests. The GAO notes that AQI is important not only to the U.S. economy, which loses an estimated $136 billion in agricultural revenue to invasive species each year, but also to efforts to protect against the deliberate introduction of pests and diseases. […]

The GAO notes that USDA and DHS have taken steps to implement all seven of its 2006 recommendations but face challenges in fully implementing four of them. Specifically, DHS and USDA have implemented recommendations to improve information sharing, review DHS’s financial management system for AQI, and remove barriers to timely and accurate transfers of AQI user fees, which are collected for AQI services provided in connection with the arrival of international air passengers and conveyances at U.S. ports. “However,” the GAO states, “the AQI program continues to wrestle with fundamental problems that undermine the management of the program and risks wasting resources in a fiscally constrained environment.” Read more here.
 

(Postmedia News)

Canada urged to calm buyers of Alberta beef

As Alberta’s beef reputation takes a clipping on the international stage – with grocery stores as far away as Hong Kong removing XL Foods product from their shelves – Canadian regulators must take steps to “ensure a state of calm” remains in place in global markets that import Alberta beef, an expert says.

The massive beef recall of products from the XL Foods plant expanded over the weekend, as the Canadian Food Inspection Agency issued further notices adding dozens of meat cuts and stores in B.C. to its long list.

U.S. authorities also issued a recent notice clarifying that the Food Safety and Inspection Service has received roughly 1.1 million kilograms of beef, steaks, roasts and other cuts from XL Foods on recall dates in question and warning consumers the products are considered “adulterated.”

The list of halted international imports of affected XL Foods beef product is also widening. Read more here.
 

(The Globe & Mail)

The Alberta beef packer at the centre of a massive recall is taking full responsibility for the tainted product, as questions mount over why Canadian officials let the company’s plant operate for two weeks after the U.S. deemed the meat unfit to cross the border.

XL Foods, which has been relatively quiet amid the E. coli outbreak, issued a statement on Thursday that stopped short of an apology. The company acknowledged its food-safety practices were “not enough” and said it would work with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency to strengthen them.

The latest developments in Canada’s largest beef recall – now exceeding 1,800 products comprising millions of pounds of meat – underscore flaws in the country’s food-safety regime and raise questions about how much responsibility the inspectors and the inspected each bear. Read more here.
 

(Bruce Cheadle – The Canadian Press)

A beef recall billed as one of the largest in Canadian history has sparked a heated war of words — and numbers — in the House of Commons.

Since a shipment of E. coli-contaminated Canadian beef from Alberta-based XL Foods Inc. was stopped at the American border on Sept. 4, the Conservative government has stoutly maintained the domestic food inspection system is working as it should.

The government, up to and including Prime Minister Stephen Harper, has repeatedly claimed it has hired hundreds of additional inspectors since coming to power. It also points to Budget 2012′s injection of $51.2 million over the next two years “to strengthen Canada’s food safety system.

Opposition critics note the same 2012 budget cut the overall stipend to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency by $2.1 million this fiscal year, $10 million next year and an ongoing $56.1 million by 2014-15.

Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz attempted to clear the air Wednesday at a news conference in Calgary. Read more here.
 

(Edmonton Journal –  Marty Klinkenberg)

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency conceded on Monday it’s a mistake not to require companies to analyze test results from beef trimmings to allow inspectors to “connect the dots to get the big picture” about a packing plant’s operations.

Richard Arsenault, the agency’s director of meat inspection, confirmed changes are coming that will require companies to do more than simply test for E. coli.
“The requirements for analysis of the data – in other words, what they had to do to look at it at the end of the day, weren’t as rigorous,” Arsenault said. “Well, I wouldn’t use that word. They were fairly rigorous because they had to do all that testing, but in terms of connecting the dots to look for these pictures, they didn’t have a requirement to do that.

“We didn’t think that was something that would have been useful. We now know that it is, so that’s why we’re going to change it.” Read more here.
 

(CFIA)

CFIA is holding consultations across Canada on how they plan to change the way food is inspected and enforced in the near future.

Attached is an invitation to participate in the consultation in your region along with the list of dates and locations and the agenda which will be the same at each location.

If you are interested in participating CFIA requests that you register by email to modele-inspection-model@inspection.gc.ca identifying in the subject line “Industry consultation RSVP-consultation location.”

(Loic Hostetter – U-T San Diego)

In a globalized economic atmosphere that relies on quick communication and low trade barriers, the U.S. government is responding with a multiagency strategy for regulating and protecting the nation’s food supply.

Part of this trend was on display Monday at the Otay Mesa Port of Entry, one of the busiest commercial ports along the U.S.-Mexico border.

A series of white trailers and trucks sat in the California Highway Patrol parking lot there. While nondescript from the outside, the trailers are packed with an array of scientific equipment used to test U.S.-bound agricultural imports for various contaminants and pathogens. Read more here.
 

I.E.Canada introduces its FOOD WEBINAR SERIES, the first of it’s kind for 2012! These three, 90 minute sessions will provide you with up to date information regarding food policies and processes that will directly impact your business.

You can register for an individual session or the entire series. Here is a list of the FOOD topics and session dates:

1) Importer Licensing, June 25th 2012, 1:00 pm – 2:30 pm
Speaker: Keith Mussar, VP, Regulatory Affairs, I.E.Canada

2) Changing Requirements for Food Labelling, Label Registration and Food Container Size Requirements, August 22nd, 2012, 1:00 pm – 2:30 pm
Speaker: Keith Mussar, VP, Regulatory Affairs, I.E.Canada

3) U.S. Food Safety Modernization Act: The Impact on Canadian Companies, October 17th, 2012, 1:00 pm – 2:30 pm
Speaker: Mark Feduke, Director, Trade Compliance, VLM Foods

Click here for webinar pricing and registration information!
 

(Alberta Farmer)

Ottawa rolls out new inspection approach for comment

A proposed new food safety model that would “standardize” Canada’s approach to federal food inspection across all commodities and products has been laid out for stakeholder comment.

The federal government on Friday released a discussion document proposing a “more effective and efficient food inspection system” that would “standardize requirements and procedures across all food, based on science and risk.”

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency, when set up in 1997, brought together and currently operates eight separate inspection programs previously handled through different federal departments with “diverse” approaches: meat, dairy, eggs, seafood, fresh fruits/vegetables, imported/manufactured foods, maple, and “processed products” such as honey.

The multiple inspection regimes, the government said, have led to situations in which “foods of similar risks may be inspected at different frequencies or in different ways.” Also, the eight food programs leave food industries “having to meet multiple and different requirements that are challenging to address.” Read more here.
 

(Food Safety News – Dan Flynn)

Long in the making, the start-up date for USDA’s new Public Health Information System (PHIS) is now just two weeks away on May 29. It will replace the Performance Based Inspection System at all regulated USDA establishments and for all meat and poultry imports and exports.

Dr. Elisabeth Hagen, USDA under secretary for food safety, has hailed the coming of PHIS as a method of “arming our inspectors with a powerful tool, on the ground, to carry out USDA’s food safety mission more effectively.”

Hagen says the new single database designed to gather, collate and use all data collected by the Food Safety and Inspection Service’s (FSIS’s) entire inspection regime is not just a change out in the IT system, but an entirely new inspection infrastructure. Read more here.
 

(CFIA)

CFIA announced changes to the list of designated facilities for the inspection of meat products from the United States for the establishments on the attached list.