EDMONTON – The growing list of consumer complaints, lawsuits and food recalls has created turbulence in the food industry in the past 10 years, but the issue of food safety in next decade is going to be equally bumpy and unpredictable, said the former head of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.
Ronald Doering warned government and industry officials attending the From the Farm Gate to the Dinner Plate conference not to expect a smooth future.
He predicted six trends to watch for in the next 10 years.
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As competition for the consumer dollar increases, the number of com-plaints from one company about another will increase.
As well, Doering said his local Ottawa grocery store stocks 11 kinds of imported lettuce. That kind of variety of imported food multiplies the likelihood of a food problem.
Improved technology will also help increase the number of food recalls. Drugs or pesticides that a few years ago could be detected on food at three parts per million can now be detected at 0.3 ppm. The new ability to enforce a zero tolerance standard means the food would likely be recalled, even though handling or farming practices haven’t changed.
“We have the ability to find tiny bits without knowing what it means.”
Doering said no lawsuits were filed as the result of a large recall of packaged luncheon food in Canada in 1998 in which more than 700 schoolchildren were reported sick.
Four years later in 2002, when a salad was found to have caused an illness in Ontario, “everyone” lined up for a lawsuit.
“This is going to come big time in Canada,” said Doering, who stressed the need for liability insurance for farmers, processors and food sellers.
“Are farmers ready?”
Canada hasn’t yet had any really big food recalls, but gaps still exist in people’s knowledge about how food is handled at each step from the farm to the consumer.
Many farmers don’t keep complete records of what their animals are fed, nor do they know in great detail where that animal food came from or the food’s history.
“Let’s not kid ourselves with some of the gaps in the system.”
More than 6,000 truckloads of food come across the U.S. border every day and container loads of food come in on ships. Few buyers of those products know the route that food has taken.
There likely won’t be any international standardization of food safety regulations, even though they are needed. Most developed countries expect tough food standards that poorer countries can’t meet.
Doering predicted that food safety rules will be used as a new trade protection to keep food out of countries.
Despite benefits of biotechnology, contrived or perceived fears associated with the technology are driving trade issues. Concerns over biotechnology are not going away.
Labelling will be a quagmire, likely adding to consumers’ distrust of the food industry rather than easing their fears.
“This is a deep black hole of Canadian food law that will continue to confuse consumers,” said Doering.
With 20,000 diet and nutrition books in the United States, consumers are confused over what labels mean and what nutrition information to pay attention to.
He also sees labelling laws as a way for competitors to complain about each other.
“It’s a messy, messy difficult field.”
