Thank you very much, gentlemen, for your testimony.
I would like to tell you about some comments I read in the Canadian Medical Association Journal when the listeriosis crisis hit. In fact, the editorial was written before the crisis was even over. You have worked in the field for a long time and have expertise not only in the area of listeria but also, in your case Mr. Holley, in biology. I would therefore like to ask some questions that are somewhat more technical.
The editorial states that the Government of Canada had agreed to national standards for listeria that were lower than those in many other countries. It also stipulated that Health Canada tolerates up to 100 bacteria per gram of ready-to-eat foods at the start of the product's life, even though the dose of listeria ultimately ingested may be higher.
I need your expertise here because I am not really that knowledgeable about this issue. We are being told that the bacteria can replicate during the product's life, even if it is refrigerated. We have agreed to this standard of 100 bacteria per gram, at the start of the product's life, even though we know that the product may contain more bacteria by its expiry date, or in other words, during the product's stated shelf life. In contrast, the United Nations and the World Health Organization Codex Alimentarius Commission tolerates 100 bacteria per gram, but only at the end of the product's shelf life.
The United States government is tougher still and tolerates no bacteria at all. I would like to ask you a specific question on this last point and I would also ask you to respond to other comments made in the Canadian Medical Association Journal. Would it be possible to have a policy of zero tolerance as is the case in the United States? I always thought that listeria was in the soil and that we could not eradicate it completely.
So I would first of all like to hear your comments on the fact that this standard is being enforced in the United States and, secondly, I would like to know whether you feel that our standard is really lower than the one enforced by other countries.