BC Southern Interior MP, Alex Atamanenko, believes the Minister of Agriculture continued insistence on allowing the meat packing industry to self-regulate is a flawed approach with serious implications to the health and safety of Canadians.

“The government says it has hired more food inspectors but we do not know where they are and they certainly were not able to detect and prevent the E-coli breakout at XL Foods,” stated Atamanenko. “It also appears that serious food safety issues that were raised in contract negotiations with the company by the United Food & Commercial Workers Union (UFCW) were not taken seriously.”

A recent statement by UFCW, local 401 outlined ongoing safety concerns at XL Foods including, production line speeds, carcasses stored too close together in coolers, workers being discouraged from sterilizing their knives between cuts, an overemphasis on quantity and a lack of support for workers in Quality Control positions. The Union representing workers at the XL plant in Brooks have also confirmed that workers have been scared into refusing to report food safety issues at the plant.

“With a government ideology to promote self-regulation and a culture of fear in a company that disregards the safety concerns of its workers we have the perfect recipe for disaster”, added the NDP MP. “Front line workers should not have to worry about being punished if they come forward with information to protect the safety of our food.”

Atamanenko says it is ironic that in the name of safety, regulatory changes in recent years have forced the closures of many small slaughter facilities who could not afford the cost of new infrastructure requirements. “As a result, the Canadian packing business is largely concentrated in 3 major plants. Two of these – Maple Leaf Foods and now XL – have since been associated with listeriosis and E-coli outbreaks that have led to illness and even death for some Canadians.”

The NDP Agriculture critic, Malcolm Allen says the Minister of Agriculture, Gerry Ritz, needs to understand the problems at this plant and should be more honest with Canadians. “Canadians have lost confidence in the Minister.  They’re tired of Conservative excuses and inaction and it is time for him to step down,” stated Allen.