Wednesday, July 29, 2015

Union says CFIA short of inspectors


The head of the Public Service Alliance of Canada’s union for the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) says it is putting public health at risk with severe shortages of inspectors at Ontario slaughter plants.

In a press conference Tuesday in Toronto, the union said every federal meat slaughter inspection team in Ontario is understaffed thanks to CFIA’s refusal to fill vacant positions.

I've seen this before, usually during negotiations for a new union contract.

But I've also seen this canned CFIA response many times before. Sprouts online news service reports "The Canadian Food Inspection Agency said in an e-mail response Tuesday that food safety remains a “top priority” for the agency, insisting “a comprehensive system of inspection tasks are carried out at all federally-inspected meat plants."