Thank you, and I guess it's now good evening.
Thank you for inviting me to make this presentation before the food safety committee. My name is Laurie Nicol. I'm the executive director of the Ontario Independent Meat Processors Association.
Our organization has been representing meat and poultry processors, retailers, and wholesalers operating in Ontario for over 30 years. We currently represent 180 members. They are family owned and operated businesses across Ontario that are both federally and provincially regulated. Many of these businesses are located in the ridings of members I've noticed around the table.
Our members are primarily inspected by the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, or OMAFRA, under Ontario meat regulation 31/05 of the Food Safety and Quality Act. I should also mention that these facilities are also subject to the Food and Drugs Act of Canada.
Our organization is a strong supporter of Ontario's provincial food safety regulations, because this makes sense for many of our members who target domestic, in-province business only.
Ontario is fortunate to have a very diversified livestock production industry. Ontario has the highest number of meat processors, both abattoirs and further processors, in all of Canada. In a study conducted for the OIMP in 2008, it was forecast that Ontario's provincial meat and poultry industry represent $2.2 billion in sales.
Currently, OMAFRA licenses 154 provincial abattoirs and 418 free-standing meat plants. A free-standing meat plant is a business that produces ready-to-eat products through cooking, curing, and fermenting, or one that is involved in low-risk activities, such as grinding, boning, and packaging, with wholesale distribution.
Food safety is the number one priority. It's hard to believe that in Canada today we still have provinces that have not implemented mandatory meat inspection programs, and that food animals are slaughtered for human consumption without inspection.
Our Canadian government has a responsibility for food safety oversight, whether it be for meat, fruits and vegetables, or baked items.
Food items from countries with lower standards continue to enter Canada's marketplace, while Ontario's provincially licensed, highly regulated plants are restricted to trade within the province. On the other side, our Canadian government has imposed higher standards regarding SRM regulations, and the survival of our provincial abattoirs that are processing Ontario's beef continues to be threatened by the high cost of complying with these regulations.
Regulations do not ensure food safety, yet they provide the protocols under which we produce safe food products. Food safety is a shared responsibility, and it begins with everyone understanding their role in ensuring that the products we grow, process, purchase, cook, and ultimately eat are handled properly throughout.
Ontario has the strongest recognized provincial meat inspection program in all of Canada. Our plants are not operating at a lesser food safety standard than large multinational federal facilities, as indicated in recent public statements.
Most of Ontario's provincially licensed establishments are family-run businesses that possess unique characteristics not found in plants designed for large-volume production and export markets. These smaller businesses operate at a more personal level. Generally, the owners can be found on the plant floor controlling activity. The family structure leads to more cohesive management and better control of day-to-day production issues, quality, and food safety outcomes. Outcome-based goals and objectives are common in our industry, and food safety is no exception.
The commitment to food safety in Ontario meat plants has continued to evolve and strengthen over the past four decades. Meat inspection in Ontario first began in 1965 for the provincial plants with red meat, and by 1969, inspection was mandatory in abattoirs throughout Ontario. In 1982 the regulation was expanded to include white meat. These regulations were the first step in a series of initiatives that have brought Ontario to a leadership role in food safety in the provincial meat industry.
In 1991 legislation was passed that required that all animals slaughtered and offered for sale must be inspected.
In 1992 our organization and OMAFRA developed a meat industry training course to educate operators on the requirements under the regulation. This was also used as training material for provincial meat inspectors.
In 2000 there was a first attempt at establishing a national standard for the meat industry. Both the Ontario government and our organization participated in the working group to develop a national meat and poultry code.
In 2001 Ontario's Food Safety and Quality Act was enacted. It formed the framework for the development of the enhanced meat regulation that is currently in existence.
In 2003 our organization co-authored a food handler training course that became the recognized standard for mandatory food handler training in provincially licensed meat plants.
Due to the fact that the CFIA could not provide HACCP certification for non-federally registered meat plants, Ontario developed the HACCP advantage program based on Codex Alimentarius standards, which was launched in 2004.
In 2004 a very public review of Ontario's meat inspection program was conducted by Justice Haines. Many of the recommendations were already under development, as Ontario has continually updated its regulatory standards.
In 2005 the Ontario meat regulation 31/05 was introduced and formed the basis of solid prerequisite programs, which are commonly referred to under the HACCP programs. These standards included requirements for written programs, record keeping, temperature control, cleaning and sanitizing standards, and personal practices, which lay the groundwork for further development of enhanced food safety programs. To ensure the effectiveness of Ontario's meat regulation, our provincial government has licensing requirements, with compliance and enforcement tools; veterinarian-based inspection in abattoirs; a further processing inspection program; an external independent audit program; water sampling programs; microbial sampling; baseline studies; and an inspection legend that readily identifies Ontario inspected meat products.
In 2005 CFIA initiated a meat inspection system review, a second attempt to integrate a national standard with provincial government participation. This led to the development of the draft Canadian meat hygiene standard, with anticipated stakeholder consultations to take place in the summer of 2007, but which came to a halt in 2008.
Despite all the improvements and investments that Ontario—both government and industry—has made to strengthen its provincial meat inspection program and food safety systems, Ontario continues to battle market access limitation from the Ontario retailers and the food service community, and we're not able to recognize any interprovincial opportunities.
Now, for some of our recommendations, we do support and need a standardized domestic food safety program across Canada based on food safety outcomes.
We respectfully request that the federal government recognize, through the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, that Ontario meat regulation 31/05 meets the federal meat regulation in the food safety standards and that Ontario's HACCP advantage program be recognized as equivalent.
Lastly, food safety is a permanent and critical part of the culture in our meat processing businesses. We need more ongoing training for inspectors and industry to ensure delivery of uniform programs at a national level, and we need to do a better job at educating consumers about their role in food safety.
I thank you for the opportunity, and I would welcome any questions afterwards.