Government of Canada Supports Launch of Be Food Safe Program to Educate Consumers About Safe Food Handling Practices

OTTAWA, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - June 3, 2008) - The Honourable Christian Paradis, Secretary of State for Agriculture, on behalf of the Honourable Tony Clement, Minister of Health, and the Honourable Gerry Ritz, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, today announced the start of the Be Food Safe public awareness and education program designed to reduce the incidence of foodborne illness in Canada.

The Be Food Safe program was launched in Canada by the Canadian Partnership for Consumer Food Safety Education, a national association whose founding government members include Health Canada, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA), and Agriculture and Agri-food Canada, as well as industry, consumer, health and environmental organizations, and provincial government organizations committed to raising awareness of the importance of safe food handling practices. The Canadian program is based on the Be Food Safe program which was successfully launched in the USA.

"We all have a role to play in keeping food safe and the Be Food Safe program provides Canadians with helpful information about safe food handling practices," said Secretary of State Paradis. "Ensuring safe foods for Canadians is a collaborative effort between government, industry and consumers, and this initiative is an excellent example of how industry, consumer groups and government can work together to keep Canadians safe."

The Be Food Safe program reinforces four core safe food handling messages - Clean, Separate, Cook, and Chill - and empowers Canadians to keep food safe. Members of the Canadian Partnership for Consumer Food Safety Education will implement the program by using the Be Food Safe graphics and messages in their advertising fliers, on product packaging, and on in-store displays.

"Preventing foodborne illness is a major public health challenge. The purpose of the Canadian Partnership for Consumer Food Safety Education is to reduce the incidence of foodborne illness in Canada by increasing consumer awareness of safe food handling practices. The Partnership will accomplish this purpose by developing and coordinating food safety education programs focused on the consumer, that are delivered primarily by member organizations," said Ron Lemaire, Partnership Co-Chair, and Executive Vice-President of the Canadian Produce Marketing Association.

"This Government is committed to food safety," said Secretary of State Paradis, "This initiative further demonstrates how the government is strengthening and modernizing Canada's safety system, as announced in Canada's new Food and Consumer Safety Action Plan."

In December, the Prime Minister announced Canada's new Food and Consumer Safety Action Plan and its goal of strengthening and modernizing Canada's safety system for food, health and consumer products. Work is continuing on all aspects of the Action Plan. This Government is committed to making sure Canada's food and product safety system is ready to meet new challenges in a global market. In February, Budget 2008 invested $113 million over two years in this Plan.

Foodborne illness, often called "food poisoning", occurs when a person gets sick from eating food that has been contaminated with bacteria, parasites or viruses, also known as 'microbes' and 'pathogens'. Health Canada estimates that there are as many as 13 million cases of foodborne illness each year in Canada. A majority of these cases can be attributed to microbial foodborne illness and traced back to poor food handling practices in the home. Currently, foodborne illness is estimated to cost Canadians up to 3.8 billion dollars each year to the health care system alone.

More information is available on the Healthy Canadians Web site (www.healthycanadians.ca/pr-rp/action-plan_e.html)

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