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Position:
The Government of Ontario must continuously strengthen the appropriate legislation, regulations and standards to maximize food safety - from production, through processing to the consumer. Food handler training is a necessary step to ensure food safety and must be made mandatory and subject to standards where appropriate. The Government must also increase fines for non-compliance, and public disclosure of food premise compliance results are an important accountability tool.
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Resolutions
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Recent Developments:
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#A09-8, 2008 Listeriosis Outbreak in Ontario
THAT alPHa urge the Chief Public Health Officer of Canada, Health Canada, the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care, and the Public Health Agency of Canada to act immediately to implement the recommendations of the CMOH’s Report on the Management of the 2008 Listeriosis Outbreak in Ontario; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that alPHa urges the Government of Ontario and Acting Chief Medical Officer of Health to ensure that boards of health receive sufficient provincial funding to ensure that local public health agencies have the capacity to investigate and report foodborne and other outbreaks in as complete and timely a fashion as possible; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that alPHa urge the Acting Chief Medical Officer of Health to track the implementation of his recommendations and publicly report on the status of implementation at least annually until they are fully implemented
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May 25 2010
alPHa has received a detailed response from the federal Minister of Health outlining progress on food safety to March 31 2010. Please click here to read.
March 18 2010
Follow-up to the August 2009 letter written to the same parties, in context of the new listeriosis outbreak. Please click here to read.
November 24 2009
Response received from the federal Minster of Health indicating that the Government of Canada has recently announced $75M to implement the federal portion of the Report of the Independent Investigator into the 2008 Listeriosis Outbreak. Please click here to read.
August 19 2009
Letter written to the federal and provincial Ministers of Health and the Chief Public Health Officer of Canada urging implementation of the resommendations of the April 2009 CMOH Report. Please click here to read.
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#A05-15, Pasteurization of Fruit Juices and Cider
THAT The Association of Local Public Health Agencies strongly urge the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care to amend the Food Premises Regulation to prohibit the sale and distribution of unpasteurized fruit juice and cider products that have been historically linked to outbreaks of food-borne illness
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December 15, 2005
alPHa has sent a letter to the Minister of Health and Long-Term Care introducing this and several other Resolutions passed at the 2005 Annual General Meeting. Please click here to view the letter.
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#A05-7, Haines Meat Inspection Review
THAT aIPHa urges the Government of Ontario and the Chief Medical Officer of Health to act immediately to develop and implement a food safety action plan to advance Justice Haines' recommendations that pertain to boards of health and the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care
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May 29 2009
The Environmental Health Branch of the Public Health Division has released a detailed progress report on recommendations in the Haines report assigned in whole or in part to the Ministry of Health and Long Term care. It lists the recommendations and reports on the varying degrees of progress for each. Please click here to read the report.
May 25, 2006
The Association of Supervisors of Public Health Inspectors of Ontario (ASPHIO) has sent a letter to the Chief Medical Officer of Health that expresses concerns about proposed exemptions of farmers' markets from provisions of the Food Premises Regulation. It argues that this represents a step in the opposite direction of the Haines recommendations. Please click here to read.
February 21, 2006
alPHa has sent a letter to the Minister of Health and Long Term Care outlining concerns with recommendations made by the Ontario Farmers' Markets Food Safety Working Group and reintroducing Resolution A05-7. The recommendations appear to diverge from the intent of the Haines Report, whose recommendations urge stronger regulation of farm-to-fork food safety practices.
Please click here to read the letter.
Please click here to read the Working Group Report.
December 15, 2005
alPHa has sent a letter to the Minister of Health and Long-Term Care introducing this and several other Resolutions passed at the 2005 Annual General Meeting. Please click here to view the letter.
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#A00-5, Food Safety
THAT the Association of Local Public Health Agencies (alPHa) urges the Government of Ontario to amend the appropriate legislation, regulation or standards such that all high and medium risk food premises, where at least three food handlers are employed at any one time, have at least one certified food handler on duty at all times;
AND FURTHER that alPHa urges the Government of Ontario to amend the appropriate legislation, regulation or standards such that fines that are charged to non-compliant food premises are raised such that they act as a significant deterrent for further non-compliance;
AND FURTHER that alPHa request the Association of Supervisors of Public Health Inspectors of Ontario (ASPHIO) to investigate the feasibility of a rating system, and if applicable, develop a system whereby food premises are rated according to their compliance with applicable legislation, regulation and standards, including food handler certification and whereby food premises are required to post such ratings on an ongoing basis in a permanent site;
AND FURTHER that alPHa urges the Association of Municipalities of Ontario and the Association of Supervisors of Public Health Inspectors of Ontario to support this resolution
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August 20, 2008
CIPHI has sent a letter to the Minister of Health and Long-Term Care urging a series of amendments, including requirements for food handler certification, registration with health units and operation permits. Please click here to read.
September 29, 2003
In the Ontario report to the Joint Session, it was indicated that The Ministry is in the process of seeking approval to amend the Food Premises Regulation to include mandatory food handler training/certification and certain technical amendments that would see cooking temperatures for certain meat products and the exclusion of uninspected meat from food premises, prescribed in the regulation. The proposed mandatory food handler training/certification would be phased in over a 5-year period for high-risk establishments and within 7 years for medium-risk establishments. There remains no indication of when these amendments might be made.
May 30, 2002
Liberal Health Critic Sandra Pupatello introduced Bill 66 to amend the Health Protection and Promotion Act (HPPA) to require every person who operates a food premise to ensure that at all times during its operation a person who is a certified food handler is employed and is present at the food premise.
March 12, 2002
Two meetings of the committee have taken place, and a third is scheduled . R. Kyle reported that there is general support from all parties (i.e. public health as well as the industry) for mandatory food handler training and certification.
January 2002
Public Health has struck a committee to discuss amendments to O. Reg. 562. The alPHa representative is Dr. Robert Kyle, ASPHIO reps are Brian Hatton and Peter Willmott. Mandatory food handler certification is on the agenda.
May 3, 2001
alPHa executive director Andy Papadopoulos attended a MOHLTC consultation on proposed changes to the Food Premises Regulation (FPR). Proposed requirements for food handler certification matches operative clause of resolution.
April 2001
Full set of proposed amendments to FPR presented at Education Days, including mandatory food handler training.
February 16, 2001
PHB sent out a proposal for fine increases to all MOH's and Directors of Inspection. It would set fines at $100 for low-risk infractions, $300 for medium and $500 for high.
February 9, 2001
Received a response from Public Health Branch (PHB) indicating that it anticipates the need for further consultation in the future, on the development of the Ontario Food Safety Strategy.
August 18, 2000
Received a letter from Jim Reffle of ASPHIO, indicating support for the resolution and that action on it is taking place in the form of exploring the use of Toronto Public Health's new inspection and disclosure system as a model for other health units.
Notes:
- At its February 28, 2001 meeting, the KFLA Board of Health passed a motion to write to Minister Clement advocating legislation to make food handler training mandatory for all persons preparing food for human consumption.
- Sudbury (P. Sutcliffe) sent a letter to Minister Clement advocating the same on May 25, 2001.
- Sudbury & District Board of Health passed a new resolution to require food handler certification under the FPR (June 25, 2002).
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