Canada-Maple Leaf closing the stable door after the horse has bolted.

CANADA-ABOUT FACE BY MAPLE LEAF.

Maple Leaf calling on stricter food safety checks.However at the time of the problems caused by negligence at the plant, the company claimed that the slicing machines were to difficult to clean and tried to blame the manufacturers.

There is a lot to be said for executives getting up from their desks, putting on a pair of boots and getting down to the factory floor once in a while, rather than blame the meat inspectors.

Maple Leaf is pushing for having more meat inspectors in plants, it has been reported.

Michael McCain, Maple Leaf Foods president, has stated that he is open to placing more meat inspectors in his company’s plants.

McCain has cautioned however that visual checks can’t detect bacteria such as listeriosis.

"One of the realities is you cannot see bacteria. So visual inspections ... really don’t help food safety. You have to look at test results, delayed test result," McCain stated this week.

Stricter testing

McCain noted last summer’s listeriosis outbreak, which killed 21 people and sickened hundreds more, might have been prevented had Maple Leaf studied patterns in its testing. The company has since the incident instituted stricter testing for listeria in plants producing ready-to-eat meat.

"I believe that had we known then what we know now, had we done then what we do now, we might have saved 21 lives," McCain further stated.

Calling on federal government

He also called on the federal government to strengthen its food safety regime.

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

McCain said if that means the Canadian Food Inspection Agency has to hire more inspectors to watch over industry, so be it. "This has clear implications for the CFIA and the resources required to oversee a tougher regulatory system," McCain added.