Health officials knew in early October that a patient in
Edmonton was food poisoned with E. coli 0157:H7 and that the bacteria was
different from the E. coli 0157:H7 that came from the XL Foods Inc. plant at
Brooks, Alta.
Four more cases showed up over the next two months.
Health officials suspected hamburgers from Cardinal
Specialty Meats Limited at Brampton might be the cause.
Canadian Food Inspection Agency staff shopped retail outlets
and picked up 300 packages of hamburger and found this strain of E. coli
0157:H7 in two of them.
That’s what triggered the recall of two types of frozen
Butcher’s Choice hamburger from Loblaws stores across Canada.
A few days later, the recall expanded to include Cardinal’s
Prime Rib Beef Burgers.
When the Calgary Herald newspaper asked the CFIA why it took
so long to recall the tainted hamburger, the agency said it needed conclusive
proof there was tainted product on store shelves.
That has prompted Dr. Doug Powell, a food-safety
communications specialist, to ask a few questions.
“Why?
“Doesn’t epidemiology matter?
“Where is this policy (of conclusive proof) enshrined?
“On what basis does CFIA go public?”
The beef industry is taking it on the chin again.
Sales declined after the XL Foods Inc. massive recall and now that
Cardinal, with one of the best reputations for food safety in the risky
hamburger business, has a recall underway, beef may be in deeper trouble with
consumers.
