Let me start by saying that it's a good thing for food service operators to take responsibility for food safety. That underlies many local food safety initiatives: mandatory food handler training, ways in which we support food service operators to do the best job they can, and others. Even the transparency, the disclosure system, provides an incentive for food service operators to do the right thing in ensuring food safety. However, there also has to be oversight. At the local level, we have quite a strong system of oversight, and the inspections are made public on a regular basis. So I think the two can go hand-in-hand. All levels of government and the food industry have an important role to play. In my view, creating a stronger role for the food industry does not remove the responsibility of government to act as an overseer.
On May 27th, 2009. See this statement in context.