OP-ED: Science needs a bigger role in Canada’s food safety policy - (TheStar.com)
September 5, 2008 – 11:59 pmDiane Katz, director of risk, environment and energy policy studies for the Fraser Institute, writes that Canadians’ confidence in government food inspection programs is plummeting as the number of fatalities linked to tainted meat products mounts.
In predictable fashion, officials are promising to resolve the crisis by increasing their budgets. But matters won’t improve in any meaningful way until food safety policy is shaped by science rather than politics.
The 13 deaths associated with the outbreak of listeriosis in processed meats from Maple Leaf Foods in Toronto would be tragic under any circumstances. But they are all the more so given the ready availability of safe biotechnology that can destroy a great deal of the microbial contamination that sickens millions of Canadians each year and costs the economy more than $14 billion.
For the complete opinion/editorial, please visit http://www.thestar.com/comment/article/491063
MORE:
http://www.extension.iastate.edu/foodsafety/news/fsnews.cfm?newsid=28653
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