Agriculture minister defends food inspection process

Federal officials defended the country's food inspection process on Wednesday, in the wake of a massive nationwide outbreak of listeriosis that has been linked to at least 15 deaths.

Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz said inspectors were doing their job properly at the Maple Leaf Foods plant in Toronto that's at the centre of the outbreak and that the government will be giving them to the tools to do the job even better in the future.

"Canada has one of the most stringent food safety systems in the world, but it can always be better," said Ritz. "That's why we are investing $113 million in Canada's food and consumer action plan and hired 200 more inspectors, with more to come in this fiscal year."