The list of sickened consumers of Gort’s Cheese Farm raw-milk
cheeses has increased to 14, including one from Quebec.
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) and the company are
trying to recall all cheeses made with raw milk since May.
And the CFIA says it has no problem with the role of Yolanda
Gort, daughter of the original owners, being the staff member it assigned to
inspect the business.
It doesn't surprise me one bit because the CFIA had no problem with the veterinarian it employed to be in charge of meat inspection at the Better Beef Ltd plant renting his housing from the family that owned the packing plant, or with him loading up the trunk of his car trunk weekly with beef he said he purchased at employee discount prices.
When I asked about those apparent conflicts of interest, I was told the issue was raised at the regional, provincial and national levels of CFIA authority.
The CFIA bosses saw fit to allow the renting and purchasing to continue, even though the company's owners were found guilty of misrepresenting ungraded and imported U.S. beef as Canadian Grade A product, and that their plant was routinely found to be short of meeting CFIA standards.
So why not assign a Gort family member to inspect the business her family founded? Too bad about the person who died.
One person has died and the list of sickened customers is four
in British Columbia, eight in Alberta and one each in Saskatchewan and Quebec.
Fifteen different varieties of Gort’s cheeses are involved
in the recall.
Owner Kathy Wikkerink is quoted by Canadian Press saying we are so sorry and we are trying to get to
the source of the E. coli, but we don't know the source and we don't know what
happened.”
The farm at
Salmon Arm, British Columbia, sold from the farm, from retail outlets and via
the internet.
The strain
involved is E. coli 0157:H7 which produces a poison that is extremely damaging
to people, especially the very young, old and those with compromised immune
systems.
