Smarter inspection will improve food safety in Canada

Holley, Richard A.

doi:10.1503/cmaj.090517

Cited by 11 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 12 publications

(9 reference statements)

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“…The generalizability of these findings is not known; while the inspection protocols in the study region are similar to many public health jurisdictions, challenges in transferability related to contextual differences have been noted in previous literature, and it has been postulated that the optimal frequency of inspections may vary by locality. 2,5,11 A review by the National Collaborating Centre for Environmental Health has suggested that optimal frequency and scope of inspections may be jurisdiction-specific. Total (intervention + control groups)x = 0.49 (SD = 0.14)x = 0.27 (SD = 0.26) t = −36.6 (p < 0.001)* * Indicates statistically significant difference (p < 0.05).…”

Section: Restaurant Inspection Frequencymentioning

confidence: 99%

Restaurant inspection frequency: The RestoFreq Study

Medu

Turner

Cushon

et al. 2016

Can J Public Health

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OBJECTIVES: Foodborne illness is an important contributor to morbidity and health system costs in Canada. Using number of critical hazards as a proxy for food safety, we sought to better understand how to improve food safety in restaurants. We compared the current standard of annual inspections to twice-yearly inspections among restaurants "at risk" for food safety infractions. These were restaurants that had three or more elevated-risk inspection ratings in the preceding 36 months. METHODS:We conducted a two-arm randomized controlled trial between November 2012 and October 2014. The intervention was twice-yearly routine restaurant inspection compared to standard once-yearly routine inspection. Included were all restaurants within Saskatoon Health Region that were assessed as "at risk", with 73 restaurants in the intervention arm and 78 in the control arm. Independent sample t-tests were conducted between groups to compare: i) average number of critical hazards per inspection; and ii) proportion of inspections resulting in a rating indicating an elevated hazard. RESULTS:Over time we noted statistically significant improvements across both study arms, in number of both critical food safety hazards (decreased by 61%) and elevated-risk inspection ratings (decreased by 45%) (p < 0.0001). We observed no significant differences between the two groups preor post-intervention. CONCLUSION:Results suggest increasing the number of annual routine inspections in high-risk restaurants was not associated with a significant difference in measures of compliance with food safety regulations. Findings of this study do not provide evidence supporting increased frequency of restaurant inspection from annually to twice annually. KEY WORDS: Food safety; restaurants; food inspectionLa traduction du résumé se trouve à la fin de l'article.

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Section: Restaurant Inspection Frequencymentioning

confidence: 99%

Restaurant inspection frequency: The RestoFreq Study

Medu

Turner

Cushon

et al. 2016

Can J Public Health

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“…These countries often improve their detection capabilities by increasing the degree of automation and by increasing the number of instruments and equipment. Test scale: Fresno in the California Department of Agriculture analysis of quality inspection agencies less than 50 employees, but there are nine gas chromatographs, not only the detection of these devices ability, but also to ensure the stability of its performance, Tens of thousands of samples from all over the country are tested every year [11]. High test accuracy: The inspection accuracy of EU inspection agencies is also very high.…”

Section: Domestic and Foreign Agricultural Products Quality And Safetmentioning

confidence: 99%

Comparative Study of Chinese and Foreign Food Quality and Safety Standard System

Huang¹,

Dai²,

Li³

2018

dtssehs

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This paper analyzes the domestic agricultural quality and safety standards, and comparative analysis of the gap between domestic and foreign agricultural products quality and safety standards that exist in our proposed agricultural products processing enterprises should actively acquire international quality standard certification, and the use of international standards for good agricultural practices (GAP) to organize production. This is to improve the stability of the quality of agricultural products, to enhance the competitiveness of enterprises, as well as raise the level of agricultural enterprises in industrialized countries are essential, should be elevated to the national strategy.

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“…Furthermore, food-borne illnesses represent a substantial health and economic burden to Canada, at an average cost of $1089 per case. 4 Our lacklustre effort at detecting, controlling and reporting infections caused by food is problematic. When contaminations are confirmed, we are often unable to trace the origins of the contamination along the food chain.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…When contaminations are confirmed, we are often unable to trace the origins of the contamination along the food chain. 4 What we need are more active forms of surveillance using common high standards for sampling foods throughout the food chain, for laboratory processing, for rapid removal of foods not meeting the standards and for reporting of laboratory results to the public. For the frail elderly and chronically ill, known high-risk microbes like Listeria are especially problematic -we should aim specifically at zero tolerance for ready-to-eat foods for this population.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Canada needs to adopt rigorous food safety standards that value food safety over profitability, 6 and enforce them with higher-quality and more active surveillance and inspection measures that put more emphasis on higher-risk foods. 4 No system can afford to trace and inspect 100% of foods. Thus, industry must assume primary responsibility for safe food production, processing and distribution.…”

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confidence: 99%

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