http://www.canada.com/topics/bodyand...0dc73a&k=53133

Carly Weeks, CanWest News Service
Published: Wednesday, November 08, 2006

OTTAWA - Maple Leaf Foods recalled some of its products Tuesday after a syringe casing was found touching meat at an Ontario plant, raising concerns about the safety of Canada's food supply.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency said it suspects some meat products may have been tampered with at a Kitchener, Ont., plant with an ''unknown contaminant'' and issued a public alert warning consumers not to eat certain brands of ham and sliced meat. The police were also called in to investigate.

However, no illnesses or contaminated products have been reported, officials said Tuesday.

''There should be no reason to have a syringe and the plastic casings and that in the meat plant. They're not treating animals there,'' said Jean Szkotnicki, president of the Canadian Animal Health Institute.''

The syringe casings were found at the processing plant in three separate incidents over a two-week period but only disclosed publicly Tuesday.

The incidents on Oct. 24 and Nov. 2 were not reported to the CFIA. Only when a casing was discovered in a ham last Friday did Maple Leaf alert the federal agency two days later, on Sunday afternoon, said Garfield Balsom, an officer with the food safety and recall branch.

Maple Leaf didn't report the first incident because it assumed the syringe casings had somehow arrived at the plant with the meat, said spokeswoman Linda Smith.

''Generally syringe casings are unusual,'' she said. ''The company wrote up an incident report, but I believe at that time presumed it to be a veterinary supply that had come in with some raw material.''

Although the company has since installed X-ray machines and surveillance cameras, they weren't in place during the incidents.

The syringe casings were detected during a visual inspection, which is just one of the many layers of oversight that are conducted at the plant, Smith said. She said the company adheres to a 30-step food safety program and places an extremely high priority on quality assurance.

But the incident highlights flaws within Canada's food safety system and consumers should be concerned about the fact casings were allowed to get into the plant, said Mel Fruitman, vice-president of the Consumers' Association of Canada.

''There are some shortcomings and there are potential dangers,'' he said. ''We have to wonder, how did those casings get there in the first place?''

He said it's not good enough for food companies to say they rarely have problems with their products.

''We always could use more inspectors. One death is one too many if it comes from tainted food that could have been prevented,'' Fruitman said.

But Maple Leaf defended their food safety record Tuesday, saying the problem was quickly dealt with and a voluntary recall initiated.

''I think the food safety and quality assurance program are of the highest standard,'' said Smith. ''It is one of the hallmarks of the company.''

The CFIA inspects the Maple Leaf plant and sets out numerous strict guidelines it must follow in order to ensure the safety of the food supply is not compromised, said CFIA media relations officer Alain Charette.