It’s not that a grocery mogul told a supposed food safety conference that “one day, (farmers’ markets) are going to kill somebody;” it’s that no one in the farmer’s market community responded with any kind of microbiological food safety comment, resorting instead to, trust us and we’re inspected.

The Toronto Star reports mega-billionaire Galen-hey-now-Weston (right, exactly as shown), head of Canadian mega-grocer Loblaws, with over 1,000 stores, told the Canadian Food Summit yesterday, "Farmers' markets are great … One day they're going to kill some people, though. I'm just saying that to be dramatic, though.”

Robert Chorney, the executive director of Farmers' Markets Ontario, responded, "We strenuously object" to Weston's remark. That was awful."

Ontario's 175 farmers' markets do more than $700 million in sales every year. Chorney promoted a few food safety myths of his own, saying that markets are regularly inspected and food is easily traceable because consumers know who they're buying from.

Inspections don’t mean much. And just because someone drives to the Food Terminal in Toronto to load up on produce at 3 a.m. and then sell it at a premium at the local market adds nothing to traceability.

“The association said that four surveys since 1998 have shown that 83 per cent of respondents feel market food is as safe or safer than supermarket food.”

Surveys suck; people’s perceptions often have no basis in reality.

"A question for Galen Weston Jr: Have you ever been to a farmers' market?" tweeted Gail Gordon Oliver, publisher and editor of Edible Toronto. "Have you ever REALLY spoken to a farmer?"

I have. And I ask questions. Like quality of irrigation water, what kind of shit soil amendments are used, and employee handwashing programs. I ask about microbial test strategies and results as verification that the farmer, whether she bought it from the Food Terminal or grew it herself, has a clue about dangerous microorganisms. Most answer with variations of, trust me.

There’s already enough faith-based food safety out there.

“Some delegates whispered among themselves on coffee breaks that supermarkets sell most of the food that's recalled by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA).”

That's because supermarkets sell most of the food that is consumed in Canada.

“Farmers' Markets Ontario works with Ontario's 36 public health units, each of which has a champion responsible for markets. It has a food safety manual on its website.”

A manual? Awesome, my faith is restored.

I don’t care if it’s a farmer’s market or the Loblaws megalomart: provide evidence that the food you’re flogging is microbiologically safe. The best producers and retailers will market food safety at retail. People want it, that’s one reason they go to markets and buy all sorts of weird categories of food, but it’s not safer; it’s hucksterism.

And being a big company like Maple Leaf of 2008 listeria-in-cold-cuts fame that killed 23 Canadians is no guarantee or even hint that microbiological food safety matters. Regardless of size, or production method, or retail experience, providers either know about microbial food safety risks and take serious steps to control those risks – or they don’t.

In the 1990s as outbreaks were increasingly associated with unpasteurized apple cider, I would ask my cider provider at the Guelph local market (that’s in Canada) what he was doing to ensure the microbiological safety of his product. He could recite a variety of measures taken on the farm, and even set up a modest micro lab on the farm for testing. I bought his cider.

Pusateri’s, proudly billed as Toronto’s most expensive grocer -- on its shelves are the best quality fruits, vegetables, meats, imported canned goods and a range of prepared food – has been closed by Toronto Public Health due to poor sanitation and pest infestation.

“It is up to the operator to improve their services and arrange a reinspection with the Public Health Inspector,” Toronto Public Health spokeswoman Rishma Govani confirmed to the Star by email Thursday afternoon.

Pusateri’s general manager John Mastroianni, however, said the store was closed for “general maintenance.”

“It’s not rodents,” Mastroianni said, repeatedly insisting that the issue was equipment related and “general maintenance.”

Govani said specifically that the closure was due to poor sanitation and pest infestation.

The inspection arose as a result of a public complaint, she said adding the pest infestation included rats as well as cockroaches.

When confronted again with the confirmation from Toronto Public Health that the store was in fact closed due to poor sanitation and pests, Mastroianni admitted cockroaches had been found in the store.

 The always helpful Canadian Food Inspection Agency warned the public this morning not to eat cantaloupes sold from Food Basics, located at 2452 Sheppard Ave. E., North York (that’s near Toronto), Ontario on September 12, 2011 because they may be contaminated with Salmonella.

No word on where the cantaloupes originated, why the warning was issued, if there was a positive salmonella test, or who did the testing.

Even more helpful, the affected cantaloupes were sold unwrapped. There is no lot code sticker, UPC or product name on the individual cantaloupes.

The retailer, Metro Ontario Inc, Etobicoke, Ontario, is voluntarily recalling the affected product from the marketplace.

There are reasons public health rules and regulations exist: people get sick from the food they eat, and inspection, along with training, provides some minimal assurance that whoever’s doing the cooking has paid attention – a little.

The Globe and Mail (that’s in Toronto, in Canada) reports that Hassel Aviles says an 11,000 square feet of unfinished industrial space is the perfect place for fine dining. And soon it will be home to the city’s newest food experiment she’s been planning since the spring, the Toronto Underground Market. Savoury smells will fill the gigantic room – those of grilled sausage with mustard seed, maybe, or pork tacos – along with 30 to 40 vendors and one long, communal dinner table set between two kilns.

The evening of Saturday, Sept. 24 will see the debut of the Toronto version of the San Francisco Underground Market, the massively popular, not-quite-legal gathering of amateur chefs begun by wild-food co-operative ForageSF and its founder, Iso Rabins. Run out of private homes and warehouses, it was a covert food happening where home cooks and local foragers could offer their wares even if they couldn’t afford licenses or commercial kitchens. It was the talk of food lovers everywhere – until it was unceremoniously shut down by authorities last month.

“It’s really important for me to ensure that this is a legal event,” says Ms. Aviles.
The idea of the market, of course, is to allow aspiring chefs to sell their creations without the barrier of having to rent a costly commercial kitchen – a must for anyone who sells food to the public, such as at a farmers’ market. Ms. Aviles also hopes it will be a forum for street food that reflects the city’s multicultural makeup.

So how is that legal?

There will be strict rules. Almost all the food preparation will take place in Evergreen’s commercial, fully inspected events kitchen – a key condition of keeping the market within municipal and provincial public-health regulations. Vendors with access to an offsite commercial kitchen may use it, but most won’t have that luxury. Either Ms. Aviles or another organizer with a city food handler’s certificate must be present in the Evergreen kitchen while every dish is being prepared. All ingredients must come from approved distributors, says Suzanne Lychowyd, healthy environments manager at Toronto Public Health.

Like sprout seeds?