If food safety audits and inspections couldn’t get worse, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency is bragging that it is creating Inspection Verification Teams to oversee the performance of Canada’s food safety system.

I thought inspectors were supposed to do that?

Starting this month, six teams of three inspection verification officers will begin conducting targeted verifications at federally registered food establishments such as slaughter and meat production facilities. The verifications will focus on areas critical to the inspection and production of safe food, such as plant sanitation and the effectiveness of a company’s response to food recalls. An additional four teams will be operational by the fall.

As announced in June 2013, the Government of Canada has committed $16 million over three years to establish the Inspection Verification Teams. Their activities are over and above regular inspections conducted every day in facilities across Canada. Existing front-line CFIA inspectors will continue to conduct specified daily tasks to verify that food safety requirements are being met while the Inspection Verification Teams have a broader oversight role.