The federal government is about to unveil tough new listeria testing rules in food plants across the country, Torstar News Service and CBC have learned.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency is overhauling its protocols to demand tighter surveillance and greater transparency around the deadly bacteria following the Maple Leaf outbreak and a joint investigation by Torstar News Service and CBC that exposed serious flaws in the food inspection system.

The outbreak, triggered by listeria-tainted cold cuts, has claimed at least 20 lives and sickened hundreds — perhaps thousands — more.

New protocols designed to give more protection for consumers will be reviewed by an expert panel of food safety experts early next month, before being approved by CFIA bosses.
The proposals include:

• Mandatory testing of plant surfaces such as countertops and meat slicers by company staff, as well as non-contact surfaces such as walls, ceilings and drains. The frequency will vary by production levels and specific processing procedures, but insiders say that surfaces that touch food will have to be tested at least once a week.

• Mandatory testing of ready-to-eat meat products by CFIA inspectors at least three times a year.

• Food will have to be quarantined and tested for listeria whenever plant surface testing turns up two subsequent positives.

The new rules will also reinstate a rule compelling companies to report a trend of positive listeria findings to government inspectors, says Rick Holley, a food safety expert at the University of Manitoba and a member of a newly formed CFIA panel of experts advising the agency on food safety.