Canada-No confidence in meat inspection.

CANADA-OUTRAGE OVER MEAT INSPECTION.

The president of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency was grilled on Monday by a parliamentary committee in Ottawa over the agency’s public role during last summer’s deadly listeriosis outbreak.

Tainted meat from a Maple Leaf Foods plant in Toronto was linked to the deaths of 22 people, and hundreds of other people became ill, leading to the largest food recall in Canadian history.

The CFIA, which had been present at the beginning of the crisis, largely grew silent as the listeriosis outbreak in Canada ’s meat products spread.

In contrast, Michael McCain, the head of Maple Leaf Foods, whose company put out the listeria-tainted meat products, emerged as the face of food safety through commercials, news conferences and YouTube video clips on the internet.

In its recent assessment of the crisis, Ontario ’s chief medical officer of health wrote that it would have been "more appropriate to have a government spokesperson take the lead in communicating with the media and public."

That assessment led to a sharp exchange between Liberal MP Wayne Easter and Carole Swan, the inspection agency’s president, during Monday’s agriculture committee hearing.

Easter accused Swan and Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz of being "missing in action" during the crisis.

"The Canadian people wanted some transparency from the government and they never got it, and I’m questioning whether we’re getting it from you," Easter said.

Swan replied that responsibility for food safety "does not reside in one person or one institution."

"There’s a network of people and institutions responsible," she said. "We are responsible for setting strong standards and holding industry to account. But ultimately, industry has responsibilities as well."

In a document it released last Friday, the food agency admits it could have done a better job communicating with the public by, among other things, responding faster to media requests for interviews.

But when Swan was asked to clarify that position following the committee meeting, she didn’t stop to answer reporters’ questions. Her officials said she had to rush off to a meeting.

’Credible’ food regulator needed: Maple Leaf CEO

On Monday, the Maple Leaf Foods chief said he’s open to putting more meat inspectors in his company’s plants — but he cautioned visual checks can’t spot bacteria such as listeria.

"One of the realities is you cannot see bacteria. So visual inspections … really don’t help food safety," McCain said.

"You have to look at test results, delayed test results."

McCain acknowledged last summer’s listeriosis outbreak might have been prevented had Maple Leaf studied patterns in its testing.

The company has since instituted more rigorous testing for listeria in plants producing ready-to-eat meat. But McCain also called on the federal government to toughen its food-safety regime and better define industry’s role when it comes to food safety.

"A strong and credible regulator administering a science-based policy is critical," he said. "We not only want a strong regulatory system, we need one."