In 1989, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency was a world leader in studying the application of HACCP (Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points) in meat-packing plants.
I wrote a lot of critical columns about the CFIA sitting on the sidelines while the United States ended up taking the lead in implementing HACCP requirements for the meat-packing industry.
I have learned that the reason for the CFIA's hesitation was political fears that HACCP standards in Canada would be challenged in the World Trade Organization as a non-tariff trade barrier.
Now, isn't that just wonderful! The Canadian public remains faced with a food-safety risk because our politicians are too afraid to do the right thing.
Of course, as soon as the U.S. moved to require HACCP, all of our packing plants that export to the U.S. had to comply.
Politics is blocking another simple benefit for Canadian consumers. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency could change from over-the-shoulder meat inspection to point-of-sale sampling and testing and punishingly-expensive recalls that could also destroy the reputation of a brand.
I don't pretend to know all of the ins and outs of the debates that bureaucrats have advanced to bog things down, but in essence it seems that a retail-level standard for meat safety would intrude on provincial jurisdiction and their weak-kneed failure to require some of the more expensive aspects of food safety. The federal bureaucrats say legislation would be required and the politicians refuse to go there.
So, food safety is compromised by politics. It's the Canadian way where politicians boast that we have the safest food in the world - or, since they've been found out - "our food is among the safest in the world". What they say does not match with what they do or, in this case, fail to do.
And don't buy into the excuse that it would cost governments too much. What's so expensive for governments in requiring companies to ensure the safety of the products they market?
