Rabbit Advocacy Animal Matters

CFIA Move Creates New Conflicts, Says U of M Food Safety Expert

October 10, 2013 Portage Online

A food safety expert from the University of Manitoba says the federal government has created new opportunities for conflicts of interest in moving the Canadian Food Inspection Agency from the agriculture department to Health Canada.

Food microbiologist Rick Holley says the announcement last week came as a surprise. "It was very unpredicted and unanticipated," he says. "As to whether it's good or bad, it has both aspects."

He says the main benefit will be the merging of Health Canada's work in developing standards and regulations with the CFIA's enforcement of those standards. "That's probably a good idea, but I'm concerned it will have some negative impact in terms of inspection consistency," says Holley.

While the food safety part of the CFIA is moving to Health Canada, the animal and plant health responsibilities are staying with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada.

"You've already got the Public Health Agency of Canada, which is responsible for foodborne illness surveillance and for taking over administration when there's a foodborne illness outbreak. You have both the president of the CFIA and the chief medical officer of health, who runs the Public Health Agency, reporting to the minister of health. There's all kinds of baggage associated with those two agencies and so they're not going to talk any better together simply because one half of the CFIA is now located in the department of health. I can't see how that's going to improve anything," he says.

There's also potential for new inefficiencies, as the CFIA's activities have been split between the two departments, he notes.

"Now we have two different functions within what was the CFIA, with one bit reporting to Health Canada and the other bit - animal and plant health and its associated activities, such as quarantine and inspection of animals and plants, reporting to the agriculture department," explains Holley. "You're going to have inspection activity that deals with the animal and plant issues issues, and then you're going to have to have another inspector who reports to Health Canada to do the food safety inspection. You tell me that's better."

Although the agency was serving as the regulator in a department whose mandate includes promoting Canadian food products, Holley says he doesn't believe the CFIA's independence was ever at risk. He explains the federal health department has always been responsible for auditing the food safety activities of the CFIA.

"Now we have the food safety program within Health Canada, and so essentially, you have the development of a new conflict of interest. Health Canada is going to be auditing itself," he explains. "It's fine to separate out the agri-food trade interests of the CFIA from the food safety part, which is perceived by some as a conflict of interest, but here you're running into a new conflict, with the CFIA food safety program being audited by its home department. So I don't get it."

The CFIA has been undergoing a major overhaul of its inspection systems since the passage of the Safe Food for Canadians Act last November, and Holley says he's concerned the switch will interfere with the process.

"The fact that CFIA has over the last year and half been undertaking a massive revision of the way in which it does inspections, this decision almost makes it seem like the CFIA will have to stop and get Health Canada approval to continue along the same direction, or perhaps change even further the way food inspections are conducted. It just doesn't seem to be a clear strategic plan to improve anything, and I'm a bit disappointed."