愛污传媒

A new report into last year's fatal listeriosis outbreak will call for more unannounced federal spot checks at meat facilities across the country and an enhanced role for the chief public health officer in managing food-borne illnesses, 愛污传媒 has learned.

The report will be made public Tuesday, but its key points were obtained by 愛污传媒 a day early.

"The inquiry cost almost $3 million and I'm told it makes about 70 recommendations," said Ottawa Bureau Chief Robert Fife. "It makes no findings of criminal or civil liabilities; what it does is make recommendations to prevent a similar outbreak."

Among the key recommendations: food companies must report all public health threats to the government, and federal inspection reports should be published.

The probe was headed by Sheila Weatherill, a former Edmonton health care executive, as part of Ottawa's response to last year's outbreak, which left 22 people dead and hundreds more ill.

The outbreak was traced to contaminated deli meat linked to a Maple Leaf Foods plant north of Toronto.

Other recommendations in the report include:

• Meat plants must report any public safety threats to the government, not just those stemming from positive bacteria tests.
• Manufacturers must design meat processing equipment that is easy to clean and will limit the spread of bacteria.
• Canada's chief public health officer must take the lead in any future cases of food-borne illness, lessening any potential political diversions.
• Provinces need to follow more strict safety rules.
• Ottawa should review the training of federal inspectors, in addition to reviewing inspection resources.

Earlier Monday, a spokesperson for Prime Minister Stephen Harper said Weatherill's report will be released to the public in its entirety.

Liberal MP Wayne Easter, the party's agriculture critic, cast doubt on the report's efficacy.

"We have concerns about this because of the way this government has handled this matter since day one," he said in a statement.

"The report from the government's hand-picked investigator, with a limited mandate conducted in private, is not sufficient. They have road-blocked any attempts to provide more transparency about the events of last summer."

But Weatherill denied anyone had interfered with her investigation.

"I have been able to conduct my investigation independently and impartially," she said in a statement. "There has been no interference from any party whatsoever."

Weatherill and her team conducted more than 100 interviews and amassed some five million pages of information during their seven-month inquiry.

But the investigation came under some criticism because the investigators held closed-door meetings with cabinet ministers and their aides, various experts, and industry and consumer groups.

Michael Doyle, a Listeria expert who advised Weatherill while she worked on her report, said she had looked at both the outbreak and at food safety in Canada.

"What I've seen, I think, is a pretty good, balanced report," he said. "I think it does a pretty good job of addressing the issue of the day, which is listeriosis and Maple Leaf product."

University of Manitoba food safety expert Rick Holley met with Weatherill during the spring.

"I still have the impressions she's being very conscientious in exploring issues that are somewhat broader than just the specific listeriosis event," he said.

Weatherill delivered the long-awaited report to Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz Monday, four months after the original March 15 deadline.

A House of Commons sub-committee has also tabled two dissenting reports on the listeriosis crisis. In their reports, released in June, opposition MPs called for a public inquiry into the outbreak.

They also asked to see greater autonomy for the Public Health Agency of Canada, as well as for health authorities to work more closely with the United States on food-safety standards.

Maple Leaf Foods apologized for the outbreak and agreed to pay up to $27 million to settle class-action lawsuits. The company has since instituted more rigorous testing for Listeria in plants producing ready-to-eat meat.