As Father’s Day comes to a close in Australia – it’s celebrated the first Sunday in Sept., after the first day of spring, Sept. 1 – I tried out my gift, a digital thermometer Amy found for me at the Big W for $18.

Somewhat pricey, but everything in Australia is, the Ekco digital thermometer performed well on the basa fillets I baked for dinner along with sweet potato and corn on the cob. Future improvement: list on packaging whether the thermometer is tip-sensitive or not. How’s a consumer to know?

Of the 3,575 inspections recorded in 2010 in Newfoundland (that’s in Canada), 42 per cent of them were situations in which inspectors travelled to a processing facility or landing site, but no inspection was done because there was no fish there.

Provincial auditor John Noseworthy noted, “Given that 42 per cent of the inspections were situations where there was no fish to inspect, they probably might want to go back and revisit that, and determine if that's the best way to go about it. There doesn't seem to be any sort of plan."

Noseworthy also found enforcement officers did more inspections of cod than they did for shrimp, despite the fact that harvesters land five times more shrimp every year than they do cod.

Another major gap in the system is at Port aux Basques, from where 90 per cent of the province's exported seafood leaves.

Inspections there were only done seven hours per day, five days per week; of the 437 inspections conducted between January and November 2010 none were recorded in the provincial database.

The government responded the province's fishery is "intense and erratic," which makes it difficult to do the sort of planning Noseworthy is calling for.

Fisheries Minister Clyde Jackman pointed out that all the province's shrimp is landed in such a short period of time that it's tough to carry out a lot of inspections.
Because the season for cod is much longer, more inspections are done.

Derek Butler, executive director of the Association of Seafood Producers, said Noseworthy's report "reflect lack of a complete understanding of the industry."
Instead of more inspections and better scheduling, Butler said there should be less inspection.

He said meaningful quality control is done by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, as well as European Union and American quality certification.
 

After an investigation revealed a B.C. grocery store changing the best-before date on fish, former Superstore employees have come forward to claim that it wasn't the first time this happened.

CTV News reports that former Langley Superstore employee Sylvia Taylor claims that changing best-before dates isn't something new for the grocery chain. She worked in the deli department during the 1990s.

"Part of our duties, as directed by our manager, was to check our meat packages in the display cases for their best-before dates. If they were expired, we were to pull the meats, open up the packages, smell them, and if they smelled okay, we re-wrapped them and put a new best-before date, extending usually by about five days. When we were told to change the best-before dates, I stopped buying any meat products from the Real Canadian Superstore."

Jason Paxton claims he had a similar experience when he worked in the seafood department at the Duncan Superstore.

"Every time the meat was re-packed, the best-before date was changed. The majority of it we could wash off, re-package it and get a couple of more days out of it."

Paxton says he has since told his friends not to shop at Superstore.

Ken Randa of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency says there are no laws against changing the best-before dates on packaged food, adding,

"If they change the best-before date, there may not be anything wrong with it, and maybe no legislative issue with us. Ultimately, they have to answer to you, the consumer.”

Superstore says employee are not allowed to change best-before dates and are required to sign a policy stating as much when they're hired. The store says they're also required to review and re-sign on a regular basis.

Uh-huh.
 

With all the fancy iPhone apps and text notifications and Intertube what-have-youse, sometimes the basics work better.

CBC News reports fishermen in P.E.I. (that’s in Canada) say government emails and web postings don't compare to flags in the water when it comes to warning them about high bacteria levels in shellfish.

The shellfishery in Charlottetown Harbour was closed on several occasions this summer when heavy rains caused the sewer system to overflow, creating high bacteria levels. Fishermen complained they weren't getting adequate warning of the closures, which would enable them to harvest oysters and mussels ahead of the storm.

As Hurricane Earl made its way toward the Maritimes last month, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency emailed people in the shellfish industry. It warned the storm could bring heavy rains and lead to closures.

John White, a policy officer with CFIA, told CBC News this was the last time such a warning would be issued. CFIA is opting for posting a notice on its website telling the industry that fishers are responsible for checking the forecast.

The P.E.I. Shellfish Association suggests putting yellow warning flags in the water when there's a possible closure and a red one when the fishery is shut down.

Just like a red or yellow or green sign on a restaurant. Because who wants to check a web site when you just want to grab a meal?