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Untested Meat Exported To USA

By Dan Flynn and Suzanna Schreck

Guilty pleas to violating Canada's Meat Inspection Act have now led to individual and corporate fines totaling $125,000, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency reports.

Cameron Leth and Wheatland Select Organic Turkey Ltd., in a joint submission, pled guilty last Dec. 18 at Lethbridge Provincial Court to violating section 7. (b) of the Meat Inspection Act.

Provincial Court Justice D.G. Redman now has fined Mr. Leth, $50,000 for violating one count of section 7. (b) of the Meat Inspection Act.

The court also fined Wheatland Select Organic Turkey Ltd., a total of $75,000 for violating three counts of 7. (b) of the Meat Inspection Act.

The  CFIA provided these details:

Section 7. (b) of the Meat Inspection Act states:

No person shall export a meat product out of Canada unless:

(b) that person provides an inspector with evidence satisfactory to the Minister that the meat product meets the requirements of the country to which it is being exported.

After a CFIA investigation, it was found that between the dates of October 2003 and December 2005, Mr. Leth failed to forward related meat samples to a laboratory for a microbiological analysis for the presence of Salmonella and Escherichia coli before exporting his product to the USA.

Mr. Leth was also found to have submitted analytical reports that were copies of those that had been previously completed by the laboratory, with changed dates and lot numbers.

The CFIA is responsible for enforcing a variety of federal legislation including the Meat Inspection Act and its regulations. Its jurisdiction is limited to the enforcement of these Acts and their Regulations.

CFIA protects consumers by contributing to food safety, the protection of plants, and the health of animals in Canada.

Full post as published by Food Safety News on March 29, 2010 (boomark / email).