Even with our best efforts, product recalls still happen.
In the average year there are more than 500 recalls and advisories in Canada affecting hundreds of products, from Listeria contaminated deli meats to kids’ toys found to contain unacceptable levels of lead. So with all of our advanced technology, why does it seem like so many products are getting recalled?
There are a variety of reasons that we see as many recalls as we do, some of it has to do with the increase in foreign imports, others because of an unfortunate series of events – when a few relatively small mistakes happen concurrently and together create a problem.
Foreign imports have increasingly become an issue as many developing nations do not have as stringent health and/or safety regulations as we have here in Canada. We have seen issues with toys (Thomas the Tank engines with lead paint) and clothing that doesn’t meet Canada’s stringent fire regulations.
Most of these are caught before they enter the market, some unfortunately are not and when they are identified, often by Health Canada, the products are recalled.
But we shouldn’t put too much blame on other nations. We are responsible for enough of our own recalls. The simple fact is it usually takes a series of small mistakes to create a potential hazard...
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The food processing industry, for example, uses a myriad of safety measures, from how food is handled, to how it is tested. But if one machine is not properly cleaned, on one occasion – and these machines are cleaned constantly – there is small possibility of it becoming contaminated and affecting a product. But if it does get contaminated, and that is a big if, and if the machinery passes the contamination to the product, the problem will likely be caught in the testing phase before it reaches market.
In very rare circumstances a series of mistakes occur (a machine gets contaminated with a pathogen, it passes it to the product and the front line testing does not catch it) and the product gets to market. In these cases organizations like the Canadian Food Inspection Agency may identify the problem (the CFIA tests our food supply constantly) and issue a recall. Sometimes the company itself identifies the problem after the product has been distributed and issues a recall.
In very rare instances the recall is issued after people get sick and public health epidemiologists track down the cause. A good example of this was last years Listeria outbreak associated with Maple Leaf brand deli meats. Public health investigators identified a link between individuals with Listeria and those who consumed specific Maple Leaf brand deli meats.
The responsibilities for minimizing the impacts of recalled products does not soley rest with government and industry. We as consumers play a critical roll in the recall process. It is our individual responsibilities to be aware of the recall notices being published and take necessary action.
If you want to keep and eye on all the product recalls and advisories that are issued in Canada you can visit healthandsafetywatch.com – registration is free and you can sign up for email updates for only those recalls issued in your region of the country.
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