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nned Program: How Do We Know Our Food is Soto? By Lynda Lowry It has been widely described as “among the safest in the world," however, from time totime there are media reports that question this conli» dence, How do we know that our food is sate? Let's take a tour around the grocery store. Produce Section Most of the fruits and vegetables in Manitoba stores are grown in Canada and the US. In both countries. the grower associations have estab- ’ ed strict codes of practice for producing fresh $5 and vegetables. They recommend that the ter used for irrigation and for washing be tested once or twice a year. Workers should be trained in personal hygiene to ensure proper handwashing. Transportation equipment should be cleanedI rinsed and sanitized regularly. Pro- duce should be handled carefully to minimize cuts and bruises that introduce microorganisms. Potato processors are very strict about pre- venting the use of unregistered chemicals and observing days»to-harvest intervals for pesticide applications. Hagardless of origin. all produce is subject to the same rules for inspection by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA). In 2001-2003. more than 11,000 samples were tested for chemical residues. Ninety-nine percent of do- mestic. and the same percentage of imported fruits and vegetables, were in compliance with the Maximum Residue Limits (MRL) set out in the Food and Drug Regulations. Meat Department If we continue to walk around the grocery store. we will come to the meat and poultry department. The major livestock commodity groups - beef, 9995. dairy cattle, pigs and poultry » have devel- on-tarm safety programs. These efforts use the risk of chemical residues, biological concerns and physical hazards in meats and POI-Illry products. In addition to the efforts on the iarm, many beet processing establishments have adopted a HACCP system composed of multiple critical control points to control bacteria. Government inspectors and veterinarians in» spect federally licenced meat processing establishments and storage facilities. This in- cludes animals and poultry awaiting slaughter and carcasses after slaughter (660 million in 2001 ). Oi the73,000 food samples collected and tested by CFIAfor chemical. microbiological and physical hazards, the rate of compliance was 99.7 per cent for red meat and 99.9 per cent for poultry in 2001-2002.The most recent data for imported red meat and poultry indicates that the compliance rate was 98.8 per cent. Dairy (use The next step on our grocery store tour is the dairy section. In addition to managing feed, medicine, water and biosecurity, dairy producers must also observe best management practices for producing milk. Sanitation otall equipment tor the collection. cooling and storage of milk is part of the Iicencing process. In Canada, in 2001-2002. 94 per cent of do- mestic samples of dairy products tested by the CFIA for health. safety and composition were in compliance. Ninety-four per cent of the imported products met the desired standards. All eggs purchased in Manitoba stores are from Manitoba farms. Egg laying operations fol- low an "all in - all out" program. All work areas are kept clean and there is no access by pets. A test for the presence of salmonella enteritis is carried out once during the production cycle. In 2001 -2002. 95.6 per cent of domestic eggs inspected by CFIA were in compliance Ior safety, quality and marketplace fairness. Non-compliant products were regraded, sent for processing and pasteurized or discarded as appropriate. Baked Goods The last section of the store includes the bak- ery section. When growing crops, producers use a variety of fertilizers. herbicrdes, tungtcrdes and insecticides to protect their crops and to achieve high yields. They also use a system ofintegrated pest management to limit their use ol pesticides. The Pest Management Regulatory Agency must register all pesticides before they can be sold and used in Canada. The Canadian Grain Commission monitors grain for pesticide residues, mycotoxins and trace elements to ensure Canadian grains meet strict safety standards. (ontlusion Our study of the perimeter of the grocery store looked at the main ingredients for the packaged and processed foods that appear on the shelves in the middle of the store. Food processors also have guidelines for ensuring that the food items they deliver to the marketplace are as safe as when they receive the ingredients. Farmers share with suppliers of feed and farm chemicals, lood processors. inspectors. food regulators. wholesalers, retailers and the food service industry the responsibility for ensuring safe food, It is also up to all consumers to do their part to keep it safe. This article is a precrs of the planned program, "How Do We Know Our Food is Safe}, 3 package prepared by Lynda Lowry, a Food and Nutrition Specialist wrth Manitoba Agriculture and Food It appeared in the Manitoba Women‘s Institute: provmcial newsletter and wax reprinted with permission of the author. Although the package was developed {or Manitoba, much of the information is relevant for Ontario The entire package is available at the following website: www govmbcalorganizauonslwr/index html ...o...-................-. Dundas District Wl Donates to Food Bank Representatives from Branches in Dundas District are shown presenting a cheque Ior $500 to the Dundee County Food Bank. From left to right are Lucie Durivage - Riverside Heights WI, Florence Hoapl'e - Chesterville WI. Diana Patrick » Chair or Food Bank, Maryke deJong A President, Dundas District WI. Grace Ma cA ulay - Chesterville W1, Isabel Williams (who held a craft/quilt show which was a large contributor to this donation) and Vivian Fawcett - Winchester WI. Missing - Marjorie Thom - WIlIIamsburg WL Subnntled by Cathy Grove, Dundas. Eastern Area Home & Country, Winter 2004 9