The president of Valoroso Foods, the Kelowna, B.C. company facing allegations of tampering with best before and expiry dates, says his team has spent the weekend doing a full inventory check of their product. Joe Valoroso says they are throwing away anything that is outdated. He adds they are planning to provide a full report to the public and to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA).
This comes after Global News conducted an investigation into allegations from former employees. One of them, James Summers-Gill documented some of the alleged tampering with a hidden camera for several weeks before he quit. Some of the footage shows employees discussing how to make the new tags more professional looking.
However, Valoroso denies the accusations. He says the inventory review is taking place at all of the company’s locations and warehouses. There are two retail stores and a warehouse in the central Okanagan as well as a warehouse in the Lower Mainalnd. Valoroso says he is sad and his priority is getting the trust of his customers and community back.
“We are going to assure them that their trust should not be violated and we are going to make sure that we can regain whatever trust we lost and we apologize if we have caused any inconvenience to their patronizing at our place,” says Valoroso.
The CFIA says before Global News’ story aired, it conducted an inspection of the facility “which included reviewing with the owners, requirements pertaining to best before and expiration dates,” said Tammy Jarbeau with the CFIA in an e mail statement to Global News. “The CFIA will continue to work with and monitor the company to ensure compliance with health and safety legislation.
Jarbeau added that changing the best before date on food is not a violation of the Food and Drugs Act and Regulations however it is illegal to sell food that is known to be unsafe.
Valoroso Foods has operated in Kelowna for almost 20 years. They specialize in Italian and European cuisine.