Michael McCain, president and CEO of Maple Leaf Foods, when it comes to the communication and building trust aspects of what must be your listeria nightmare, stay away from government.
Shortly after the first death was announced last Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2008, various politicians and bureaucrats said the surveillance system was working. Robert Clarke, the assistant deputy minister of the Public Health Agency of Canada, said Friday that the government’s actions in this case were quite rapid and an illustration of success.
I’ve been harping ever since that it’s impossible to tell from the various public statements who became sick when, and whether the system really worked or not. If you’re going to brag about how the system is working, you have to provide dates for onset of illness and deaths.
Today I got some company.
Toronto’s Globe and Mail wrote in an editorial that officials claiming surveillance success, “doth self-praise too much, too soon.
“Did the surveillance system work? No independent voice has said so yet, and it is hard to see why Mr. Clement’s or Mr. Clarke’s word should be taken at face value. The two-year-old Public Health Agency, which reports to Mr. Clement, has yet to distinguish itself for independence. And everyone – government health officials and the company involved, Maple Leaf Foods Inc. – considered it enough that the first warning of possible contamination went out to distributors, not the public. For four days, the loop was closed. Whether that was the right or the wrong approach, it does not do much for the public’s confidence in Canada’s food-safety system.”
Columnist Tom Brodbeck of the Winnipeg Sun wrote that,
“Federal Health Minister Tony Clement says the recent tainted meat outbreak that killed six people and caused at least 14 more serious illnesses is a shining example of how well Canada’s food inspection system works.
Pardon? …
“If this is what Clement calls a success story, I’d hate to see what he considers a system failure. … I don’t think six deaths and 14 serious illnesses is anything to be proud of.”
These comments about success are even more bizarre and appalling now that the confirmed and probable death toll has been raised to 15.
So this afternoon, Dr. David Butler-Jones, MD, Chief Public Health Officer (that’s a lot of capitals), who had previously lauded the success of the surveillance system, wrote in a press release that,
“As Canada’s Chief Public Health Officer, I want to update Canadians on the state of the ongoing listeriosis outbreak.”
He really seems to enjoy that title; and he then proceeded to provide less than no information.
“We are all understandably concerned whenever we hear that something as precious as the food we eat may pose a danger. Years of effort to ensure safe and secure food supplies have allowed us to be confident in what we eat. …
“While not everything is preventable, fortunately there are some simple steps that can be taken to reduce the risk of illness for ourselves and our families. There are the usual things we should always be doing, like washing hands, storing and cooking food properly, washing fruits and vegetables well, and avoiding unpasteurized milk and milk products. …
“Canadians should be confident that the Government of Canada, through the
Public Health Agency of Canada, Health Canada and the Canadian Food
Inspection Agency, is working closely with all provinces, territories, and with Maple Leaf Foods to respond to this outbreak and protect the public’s health.
“We can never be completely immune to the risk of contaminations and outbreaks, even with the best food safety system in the world. That is why we operate surveillance and other systems to identify potential outbreaks and do the detective work that helps us to find the cause and stop further problems. And what we learn from each experience helps us to improve the system further.”
As Napoleon Dynamite sorta said, “That’s like, the worst thing I’ve ever seen.”
Why should Canadians have any confidence when the public servants at all these agencies with their six-figure salaries can’t provide basic information like who got sick when? How arrogant is it to tell someone they should be confident in an alphabet soup of agencies, in the absence of any data or statements that inspire confidence?
Ben sent me a sports headline regarding the Olympics, which also fits for food safety: Canada remains happily mediocre.
That’s me and Ben, above right, not exactly as pictured.
And here’s me with a clean shirt talking to CBC News.