Canadian meat bypasses inspections – but is it safe?
Food & Water Watch, along with other members of the Safe Food Coalition, are urging U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack to immediately stop a pilot program that eliminates border inspection of meat products from Canada. A letter from the groups was delivered during a stakeholder briefing on the program.
“Canada’s food safety track record is at an all-time low with more than a third of all Canadians getting sick from food-related causes every year,” said Wenonah Hauter, Food & Water Watch’s executive director. “Yesterday, the Canadian government announced an expansion of a recall involving ground beef products sold across Canada at Loblaws, Costco, Walmart, Safeway and Calahoo Meats stores, produced by XL Foods, one of Canada’s biggest exporters. But USDA thinks less inspection is a good idea?”