Ontario Auditor General tags food safety as concern

The policing of food safety in Ontario is one of the areas of concern highlighted in the 2008 report from the provincial Auditor General.

According to the report released yesterday, the province needs to improve the way it handles violations of food-safety standards in provincially regulated slaughterhouses and meat-processing plants.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, which is responsible for food safety actions in Ontario, needs “to make sure that corrective action is taken when significant violations of its standards are found” during the inspection process to license provincially regulated slaughterhouses and meat-processing plants.

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During their licensing audits, some plants had deficiency rates for the standards examined of almost 30%, many of which were repeat violations noted in previous audits.

Other findings of the report included:
• There were weaknesses in the Ministry’s inspections of dairy processing plants and distributors, including instances where licences had been renewed before inspections were completed.
• Tests on fluid milk and cheese showed bacteria counts high enough to suggest a number of processing plants might have sanitation problems.
• The Ministry has limited powers to enforce food safety for fruits and vegetables.
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The Office of the Auditor General is an independent audit office that provides Legislative Assembly of Ontario with objective, appropriate, and timely information on the administration of provincial finances.