Consumers in Control

Over and above these safeguards, some processors have implemented their own, often more stringent, safety rules. “In the case of poultry, the industry has moved from a commodity business to a brand business,” notes Robin Horel, president and CEO of the Ottawa-based Canadian Poultry and Egg Processors Council. “There’s a greater sense of accountability when a brand is at stake.”

Audited Safety Programs

On the production side, a variety of farmers’ organizations have developed and implemented auditable On-Farm Food Safety (OFFS) programs. Participation is often voluntary but a majority of farmers have enrolled in them as demand grows for foods produced under verified safety programs. Designed to prevent problems by identifying and controlling potential biological, chemical and physical hazards, OFFS programs document the quality and safety of all products and processes used to raise specific animals and crops. They centre on Good Agricultural Practices (GAP), training and education, systematic risk reduction, record keeping, and traceability and tracking with animal and crop identification. To ensure transparency, farms enrolled in an OFFS program must be validated regularly.

One such program is the pork producers’ Canadian Quality Assurance program (CQA). “In Canada and abroad, customers want to know that everything possible is being done to produce top-quality pork,” says Mary Ann Binnie, manager of Nutrition and Food Industry Relations at the Canadian Pork Council in Ottawa. “To maintain and grow their markets, hog producers launched CQA in 1998 as a way to promote and demonstrate safe pork production. More than 95 per cent of all hogs processed in Canada come from CQA-validated farms.”

Besides assurances of safety and quality, consumers increasingly want to know that the meat and poultry they eat comes from humanely treated animals. And meeting current codes of practice may not be enough. “Many processors are being audited by restaurant chains such as McDonald’s and Wendy’s to ensure that animals are being handled properly and receive appropriate care at processing plants,” says Binnie. “To provide confidence that standards are being met, some type of external audit is neccesary. The Canadian Pork Council has worked with producers, animal care researchers and government to develop an auditable animal care assessment tool as an addition to our CQA program. The goal is to enhance the marketability of Canadian pork at home and abroad.”