Food Supplies and Foodborne Ilness

"One of the more recent trends that we've observed that is of some concern to us is we are seeing an increasing number of outbreaks linked to produce", according to Paul Sockett, director of foodborne, waterborne and zoonotic infections at the Public Health Agency of Canada. Up to 13 million Canadians will suffer from the effects of a foodborne illness this year alone.

And most of the problem doesn't originate with fruits, vegetables, nuts and other foodstuffs grown right here in Canada, but the food that enters the country from abroad where regulations are less stringent, and where pesticide use is rampant and the use of chemical agents banned in Canada is commonly used.

This is our bargain with the devil. Consumers demand lower prices for quality products. We're getting the lower prices all right; it's quite inexpensive to eat well in this country, but as for quality, that may be another matter entirely. The food may look presentable and taste good, but it may also be contaminated, and result in recalls and warnings, but not before problems arise.

Government inspection can accomplish just so much. While it's true we have rules and regulations they can be overcome. Buyers and distributors of grocery products on a really large scale, scour the opportunities to purchase abroad where labour costs are so low they more than make up for transportation costs. And there's usually another kind of price to pay.

Produce grown on foreign soil bring their own hazards with them; bacteria and foodborne illnesses not known in Canada, like parasites on soft fruit from South America, and salmonella bacteria on bean sprouts and lettuce from the United States. Remember that spinach recall last year? With public illness comes a drain on health care and lost work productivity.

Importing foods from less developed countries almost guarantees that strict farm safety guidelines are not in place to ensure food doesn't become contaminated with harmful bacteria, high pesticide levels, or chemicals banned for use in Canada. It's simply not possible to control and impose internal standards for products from abroad.

It's the food suppliers and retails who've been given the task of conducting quality checks, and to take safety measures. This seldom goes beyond checking for 'proper documentation' for imported goods. Tests for bacterial conduct and pesticide levels or any other types of contamination are simply not done; industry leaves that to government.

And government agencies do check more problematical products, like meat, intensively, but other products are spot-checked. As long as we continue to import large quantities of our foodstuffs from abroad, we'll be subject to risk-taking in exchange for lower food prices.

And how many of us worry about contaminated irrigation systems abroad, tainted water used to grow vegetables, lack of sanitary conditions for farm workers, contaminating growing foodstuffs with E coli bacteria?

The big question here is how to ensure clean, safe procedures are in place in countries in Central and South America, Africa and Asia?

You want cheap, you take your risks.