In 1997, I co-wrote a book called Mad Cows and Mother’s Milk, which included a chapter about how the newly formed Canadian Food Inspection Agency sucked at communication and enforcement regarding bovine spongiform encephalopathy.

A few years later, when Canada had its first case of mad cow disease, the chief vet was proactive, and consumption of beef actually rose.

But when the Maple Leaf listeriosis outbreak killed 23 in 2008, CFIA was left castrated.

It was probably a political thing.

Kelsey Johnson, a reporter with iPolitics, www.ipolitics.ca writes in Canada’s Western Producer that there is nothing more frustrating for a journalist than the inability to get basic information for a story from official channels, particularly at the federal level.

The relationship between the federal government and the Parliamentary Press Gallery is especially strained, one that is unlikely to improve much in the coming months thanks to the rapidly approaching federal election.

Which is why the Canadian Food Inspection Agency’s communication response to the single case of H5N2 avian flu in Ontario has been a pleasant surprise.

The CFIA’s last communications effort, which had been prompted by a leak that revealed a case of BSE had been found on an Alberta farm in February, received heavy criticism from some reporters, including yours truly.

In that particular case, obtaining basic information such as the location of the index farm and the birth farm, was like pulling teeth. The agency’s initial plan was to not make the case public until its monthly reporting period in March, a policy that CFIA and the cattle industry insist is simply standard practice.

This time around CFIA appears to have amended its communication strategy.

Reporters were first informed of the single case of avian flu April 7 through a CFIA news release that was sent to the entire Parliamentary Press Gallery. That in itself is an improvement over the BSE case, when the agency put out a response but didn’t send it to the gallery’s main email, which frustrated several reporters who were unaware of the CFIA’s response.

Kelsey, it’s all about trade.

And while barfblog.com is only 20-years-old, the Rolling Stones released their first album, 51 years ago today (thank you, Buddy Holly).