Restaurant inspection in Calgary starting to work
The Calgary Herald reports that the number of complaints lodged by customers against food establishments in the Calgary region has jumped by almost six per cent in three years.
Figures also show a nearly 40 per cent increase in the number of restaurants, bars and grocery stores closed for food violations — ranging from thawing meat to mouse droppings in the kitchen — during the same period.
Last year, health inspectors temporarily closed 93 food outlets until they fixed the problems, according to statistics compiled by Alberta Health Services.
Rob Bradbury, director of environmental health for the Calgary region of Alberta Health Services, was quoted as saying,
“The numbers are huge. Our mandate is to protect public health. It’s a combination of our vigilance during routine inspections and input we receive from the public as a result of complaints.”
I picked up on that last theme during an interview with AM 660 radio in Calgary this morning, stating,
“The technology is out there – the blackberry I’m using to talk with you can take pictures and video. Just go on youtube and see the videos consumers have taken of yucky restaurant conditions.”
E. coli sickens seven in Canada
Any cases of E. coli O157:H7 are "heart-wrenching.”
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That’s what Tanya Maksymic, whose daughter Julia became seriously sick with E. coli in 2007, told the Calgary Herald after hearing that public health types are investigating a cluster of five cases in Calgary, which appear related to additional cases in Edmonton and Saskatchewan.
Dr. Richard Musto, Calgary medical officer of health for Alberta Health Services, said,
"We think we see some patterns here. It's still early, but it looks like there is some . . . connection between these cases."
Two of the people required hospitalization, according to sources, who added the Calgary cases appear linked to three unnamed Vietnamese restaurants. …
In the latest cases, the seven people fell ill between Nov. 26 and Jan. 2.
Maksymic went on to add,
"I never let my guard down, I'm always taking extra precautions. You don't live normally after that (experience)."
Handling dog treats made teen seriously ill
On Thursday, March 13, 2008, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency and Rollover Premium Pet Food Ltd. warned consumers not to purchase or use certain Roll Over Pork Tenders Premium Dog Treat described below because it may be contaminated with the bacteria responsible for salmonellosis in humans. … There has been one illness reported associated with this product.
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The Herald reported on March 15, 2008, that 13-year-old Brandon Jacklin will never handle a dog treat the same way after contracting salmonella from contaminated pork treats and losing 15 pounds during his medical ordeal that initially baffled health officials and frightened his family.The story says it was only after an official with the Calgary Health Region recalled a similar contamination problem nine years earlier involving dog treats -- from the same company, Rollover Premium Pet Food -- did the family start to get answers.
Jacklin's mom said,
"I had no idea that normal dog treats you take out of a bag could make someone so sick," adding the health inspector was very diligent in tracking down the source of the illness. Now the Jacklin family is extra vigilant after dealing with dog treats, ensuring they sanitize their hands afterwards.
The Calgary Health Region would not comment on the case, until they receive more information from the health official who investigated.
So the officer who cracked the case, informed the family and triggered a national recall, didn't supply enough information to his or her bosses in Calgary?
Not the first time the Calgary Health Region -- not the individual inspectors -- has been, uh, slow.
Calgary, what is the problem?
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It only took some bright journalist three days from the initial announcement to figure out that the four sick people with Shigella from baby carrots were in Calgary.Hypothetical risks are a big story in Canada. People actually barfing isn't.
The Calgary Health Region, continuing its Paleolithic-era communications style of blaming consumers, was cited by CBC News as "warning people to wash their hands thoroughly to prevent spread of the bacteria."
So, these four sick people all opened bags of baby carrots from Costco and managed to sicken themselves with the same bacterium cause they didn't wash their hands? It's a ready-to-eat-food. Who comes up with this stuff?
It's more than barbeques
Food safety is not simple.Yet the food safety folks in Calgary, Alberta, continue to insist that there are generally more E. coli cases in the summer because more people barbeque hamburger. That's blaming consumers, a standard tactic, especially in Canada.
Since the beginning of June, 58 people have become sick with E. coli O157:H7 in the Calgary area. Now they've apparently decided to call in the feds for help.
Tanya Maksymic, whose two children were sickened, including the hospitalization of her 17-month-old, said the health region's decision to get help from the federal government about the unusually high number of cases this summer is too little too late.
I chimed in on Aug. 2/07, with the following letter in the Calgary Herald:
Re: "E. coli infections stymie officials," July 28.
Dr. Judy MacDonald said 28 people have tested positive for E. coli in Calgary, more than five times the number the city usually sees in a typical month.
Despite not knowing the food source, MacDonald stated, "There are simple ways to prevent this -- wash your hands before you prepare food or eat food, after you change a child's diaper, or after you've been to the bathroom."
What's so simple about the recent outbreaks in produce, pet food and peanut butter? Once the products were home, there was nothing individuals could have done to prevent the illnesses and deaths.
Are consumers really expected to cook all their fresh tomatoes and leafy greens to 165F to kill salmonella? Fry up peanut butter? Bake the cat food?
Food safety is complex, constant and requires commitment. Consumers have a role to play, but not if the E. coli is linked to produce like lettuce or spinach.
Everyone in the farm-to-fork food safety system has a responsibility to reduce risk. The opportunities for cross-contamination are numerous, and it's not that easy to cook a safe burger.
Every grower, packer, distributor, retailer and restaurant must work on developing their own culture that values and promotes microbiologically safe food.
Douglas Powell,
Manhattan, Kan.
Douglas Powell is scientific director of the International Food Safety Network at Kansas State University.
