Thank you, Madam Chair.
Honourable members, I would like to thank you for giving me the opportunity to speak with you today about Health Canada's efforts.
Before getting into my remarks, I'd like to introduce Dr. Samuel Godefroy, who is our director general of the foods directorate, under whose responsibility this issue of listeriosis lies, as well as Dr. Jeff Farber, who is the director of our bureau of microbial hazards; he was directly involved at the time and continues to be very involved with these issues.
To continue from what Dr. Butler-Jones has said, let me begin by saying that protecting and promoting the health and safety of Canadians, their families, and communities are of paramount importance to Health Canada. At the federal level, Health Canada's primary responsibility in terms of food is prevention. We set standards and policies for the safety and nutritional quality of all foods sold in Canada and work as part of the wider global food safety network to increase our understanding of food safety risks as well as sharing early warnings of potential food safety incidents.
During food-borne illnesses and outbreaks we work as part of the team, part of the Public Health Agency, and with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency in a supportive role, and with our provincial, territorial, and local public health partners to confirm the source of the food-borne illness, to provide laboratory services, and to conduct health risk assessments in an efficient and expeditious manner.
It is within these parameters that I would like to illustrate the progress that Health Canada has made towards fulfilling the recommendations set out in Ms. Weatherill's report.
As mentioned by Dr. Butler-Jones, we have organized our work under three key themes: reducing food safety risks, enhancing surveillance and early detection, and improving emergency response.
Under the theme of reducing food safety risks, we must continually review and adjust our food safety standards, policies, operational procedures, and legislative framework so that oversight continues to be effective in these risks.
In terms of listeria, Health Canada has revised and strengthened its listeria policy, which includes all ready-to-eat foods. We have held targeted stakeholder consultations to guide the revision, and the revised policy was released for public consultation on our website from March 22 to May 3 of this year.
Stakeholder comments and feedback received through this consultation are currently being analyzed by Dr. Jeff Farber and his team in order to refine the policy. We expect it to be finalized by the fall of this year.
In the Weatherill report, it was recommended that Health Canada review its approval processes and fast track, where appropriate, new food additives and technologies that have the potential to contribute to food safety giving particular attention to those that have been scientifically validated in other countries.
Health Canada is doing exactly that. Guidelines to assist industry are being developed using established criteria that would allow us to prioritize and fast-track approvals of food safety interventions that have proven health benefits. We anticipate that these guidelines will be finalized by the fall of 2010. In the meantime, we are already implementing these processes internally.
As an example, Health Canada used this process to approve the use of sodium acetate and sodium diacetate as preservatives in the preparation of meat and poultry products, including cooked and cured meats.
This process will also help us to address other food safety and nutrition issues, which could include, for example, finding alternative fats and oils to help reduce trans fat in our food supply, and therefore Canadians' consumption of this harmful substance.
In her report, Ms. Weatherill also noted the differences in perspectives regarding the quality and strength of evidence on which to base recall decisions.
To address this issue, Health Canada, in collaboration with its national and international food safety partners, has developed a draft guidance document on the weight of evidence needed to support appropriate and timely actions to protect consumers during food-borne illness outbreak investigations.
The weight of evidence takes into consideration all the information gathered through food sample testing and human illness reports, as well as the investigation of farms and/or food premises. Federal, provincial, and territorial counterparts have reviewed the draft guidance document, and it will be shared with a number of Health Canada's international counterparts later this month.
Health Canada is also enhancing our standard operating procedures in support of CFIA's food safety investigations. This includes clarification of timelines in the health risk assessment processes as well as improving the quality of our risk assessments with improved methodologies. The department will continue to add specialized expertise and is in the process of training more staff to conduct health risk assessments in order to continue to provide 24/7 coverage and enhance surge capacity preparedness.
Under the theme of enhancing surveillance and early detection, Health Canada is working in collaboration with CFIA to improve and validate detection methods for listeria and other hazards in food to reduce testing time and enable more rapid response during food safety investigations.
For example, we have an enhanced method for detection of listeria, which will lead to results being available in five to seven days, rather than the ten days that it took us previously. This has been developed by Health Canada, and we're currently validating it for different food commodities and categories. We've also begun working with the National Research Council on a multi-year project to develop even faster lab results, which will allow for the detection of listeria within 48 hours. A first-generation prototype is anticipated for mid-2011.
Under the final theme, improving emergency response, Ms. Weatherill called for targeted communication efforts for particular vulnerable segments of the population. The government recognizes the importance of providing information to Canadians on how to handle food safely to help avoid food-borne illness. Efforts to provide this information are ongoing, and target those populations that are at greater risk of complications from food-borne illnesses--for example, older adults, pregnant women, and those with weakened immune systems.
In March of this year we launched the first stage of a social marketing campaign targeting at-risk populations. This included the publication and distribution of booklets. We brought copies of these, which we'd be happy to share with all of you.