Appendix E - Glossary

Agriculture Sub-Committee on Food Safety

The House of Commons has permanent ('Standing') all-party committees that examine relevant legislation, the activities and expenditures of a department or agency and the effectiveness of its policies and programs. Subcommittees are sometimes set up by the main committee to focus on specific issues.

On February 12, 2009 the Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food established a Sub-Committee on Food Safety to study the food safety system in Canada including the events and factors that lead the listeriosis outbreak of 2008. The Sub-Committee produced a report entitled Beyond the Listeriosis Crisis: Strengthening the Food Safety System ,which was tabled in the House of Commons on June 18, 2009

At-Risk Population:

Individuals belonging to a specific group who share common characteristics, such as age, gender, that are more susceptible to illness or likely to develop a medical condition. Also referred to as 'vulnerable' groups.

Audit:

An in-depth review of an establishment to ensure proper procedures are being followed. In the case of the food processing industry, CFIA carries out an audit to verify whether national health standards are being met. An audit requires inspectors to go through all areas of a plant and evaluate the entire establishment in one session. This differs from a daily inspection that covers all points an audit does, but cyclically over an extended period of time.

Best Before Date:

Labelling on food items that signifies the last recommended date the product should be consumed as shown on the label. Best before dates assist traceability by identifying when the product was manufactured.

Best Practices:

There is no universally accepted definition but there is broad agreement that best practices share common characteristics. They are innovative, make a difference, have a lasting effect and have the potential to be replicated.

C-EnterNet:

A comprehensive, multi-partner surveillance system enteric (gastrointestinal) disease

Case

A person in the population or study group identified as having a particular disease.

Case Definition:

The method used by public health professionals to define who is included as a case in an outbreak investigation, (i.e. a person considered directly affected by a disease). A case definition defines a case in terms of time, person and place.

Compliance Verification System (CVS):

The CVS provides a uniform approach to food safety inspection. Its purpose is to verify that federally regulated food-based establishments are complying with federal Meat Inspection Regulations. The system includes verification tasks and detailed procedures for CFIA inspectors to follow when conducting verifications. Inspections activities include daily and monthly tasks, and are based on known risks associated with food processing and the facility.

Communicable Disease:

An illness caused by a specific infectious agent or its toxic products that is spread from an infected person, animal or reservoir to a susceptible host, either directly or indirectly through an intermediary such as a plant or animal host, sector or the inanimate environment.

CODEX:

The short form for Codex Alimentarius Commission, a body established by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization in partnership with the World Health Organization. It was set up to protect the health of consumers and to ensure fair practices for international trade in food products. CODEX includes internationally recognized standards, codes of practice and guidelines for industry to follow to export their products.

Deputy Head:

The highest ranking public servant in a federal department or agency - usually referred to as a Deputy Minister - who manages the organization on a day-to-day basis and reports to the Minister. In some federal agencies, the position is also called President or Commissioner.

Early Aberration Reporting System (EARS):

An electronic surveillance system used in Ontario to monitor health trends based on disease information provided by local public health units. The system makes it easier to identify statistical increases in infectious and foodborne illnesses and to identify clusters of a disease.

Environmental Sampling:

A testing method for example b. swabbing used in the food processing industry to identify microorganisms on surfaces that could come into contact with food in order to control harmful bacteria that may be a threat to human health.

Epidemiology:

The study of the incidence and prevalence of illness in large populations to discover how often diseases occur in certain groups and why. The information is used to plan approaches to prevent diseases or to manage them in cases of outbreaks, such as infectious and foodborne disease epidemics.

Establishment (Est.) 97-B:

The Maple Leaf Foods plant at 150 Bartor Rd. Toronto, Ontario - referred to in this report as Bartor Road - where Listeria contamination in deli-meats resulted in the 2008 listeriosis outbreak.

Food Safety:

The overall safety and nutritional quality of food sold in Canada. Policies, standards and activities relating to food safety are the statutory responsibility of the Minister of Health.

Food Supply Chain / Distribution System:

The path that foods take as they move from food producers to consumers.

Foodborne Illness:

Foodborne illness occurs when a person consumes food contaminated with bacteria, viruses, parasites or toxins.

Foodborne Illness Outbreak Response Protocol (FIORP):

An intergovernmental agreement involving the federal, provincial and territorial governments that outlines the roles and responsibilities of all regulatory parties involved in a foodborne illness outbreak in Canada

Forensic investigator:

An individual with specialized training and expertise (e.g. legal, scientific, accounting, engineering) who reviews documentation to confirm facts or to identify factors that explain why or how an event unfolded, including the cause or causes of a problem

Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP):

An internationally recognized approach to food safety that became mandatory in Canada in 2005. HACCP is a core element of food processing plants' food safety program designed to assess and control hazards and risks associated with food production.

High Risk Foods (for Listeria):

Products most susceptible to Listeria contamination, such as deli-meats, unpasteurized (raw) milk, soft cheeses, paté, meat spreads, and smoked seafood and fish.

Incubation period:

The time between exposure to a bacterial or viral infection and the onset of symptoms or other signs of a disease. It can take between three to 70 days before people become ill with literiosis.

(Food safety) Inspection:

The activities carried out by a food inspector fulfilling daily or monthly tasks under the CFIA's Compliance Verification System.

Integrated Public Information System (iPHIS):

Ontario's automated client health record and reporting database used by public health officials. It supports public health interventions, tracking, follow-ups, case management and reporting, immunization tracking, communicable disease case management and population health surveillance components.

Lead Agency:

In an outbreak the lead is the agency that has responsibility for the overall management of the emergency

Listeria:

The umbrella term to describe six strains of bacteria referred to as Listeria species (or Listeria spp.. Of these, only one strain, Listeria monocytogenes is known to cause illness in humans (listeriosis).

Listeriosis:

A serious, potentially fatal, infection caused by eating food contaminated with the bacteria Listeria Monocytogenes. It occurs primarily in newborn infants, elderly patients, and patients who have compromised immune systems.

Lot Code:

A number printed on a product or its packaging that signifies the day and year it was manufactured as well as the establishment where it was manufactured.

Mandatory Recall:

When a product is deemed to pose a threat to human health or safety, Section 19 of the Canadian Food Inspection Act give the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-food the authority to order that it be removed from the marketplace. Mandatory recalls are used when a company is unwilling or unable to recall its contaminated product or when the company cannot be found (e.g. bankruptcy) or identified.

Manual of Procedures for the Meat Inspection Program:

Contains information an. instructions to inspectors about policies on the importation, exportation and interprovincial trade of meat products, as well as policies concerning the preparation of meat products in establishments licensed under the 1990 Meat Inspection Act and Regulations.

Memorandum of Undersanding (MOU):

A document describing a bi-lateral or multi-lateral agreement among parties that indicates an intended action. It is most commonly used in cases where there is not an existing legal obligation or in situations where one is not legally enforceable.

Microbe/Microbial:

A microorganism that causes a disease.

Multi-departmental:

Refers to the relationship among departments or agencies withi. government.

Multi-jurisdictional:

Refers to the relationship among different levels of government (e.g. federal-provincial, federal-provincial-local)

Notifiable Disease:

A disease deemed of sufficient importance to public health to require that its occurerence be reported to public health officials. The reporting of notifiable diseases is mandated by the province and territories; notifiable diseases may vary from province to province. Reporting by the provinces and territories to the federal level is voluntary; however, agreement is reached by consensus of the Advisory Committee on Epidemiology, which comprises representatives from all provinces and territories. (PHAC)

Outbreak:

A sudden increase of disease greater than would otherwise be expected in a particular time and place.

Panorama:

Next generation information management solution to better manage public health outbreaks in a coordinated manner.

Pathogen:

The term used to describe bacteria, viruses or fungi that are the agents or producers of a disease.

Post-Processing Treatments:

Measures taken after products have been processed and packaged to kil. contaminants before the products are distributed.

Precautionary Approach:

The principle that there is a duty to take action to protect the public or the environment, even in the absence of scientific certainty, to avoid severe or irreversible harm.

Product Code:

A series of numbers and/or letters that signify specific product information primarily for the use of the manufacturer to assist in tracing products and for quality assurance.

Public Safety:

Preventive or remedial action to protect the public from events that otherwise would pose significant danger, injury, harm or damage resulting from natural disasters or man-made crises

Public Health:

The efforts of a society to keep its population healthy and safe by promoting good health, as well as preventing illness, injury and premature death.

Public Health Surveillance:

The ongoing, systematic collection, analysis and interpretation of data essential to the planning, implementation and evaluation of public health practice, closely integrated with the timely dissemination of these data to those responsible for prevention and control. (PHAC)

Pulsed-Field Gel Electrophoresis (PFGE):

Scientific method used to identify genes at the DNA level commonly referred to as molecular sub-typing or "fingerprinting."

PulseNet:

A national network of public health and food regulatory agency laboratories coordinated in Canada by PHAC's National Micorbiology Laboratory locacted in Winnipeg. PulseNet participants perform standardized DNA fingerprinting to distinguish foodborne disease-causing bacteria.

Ready-to-eat:

Term used to describe food that requires no preparation before consumption.

Recall (Food Safety):

A requested return of an entire production run of a product usually to preserve the health and well-being of the consumer and to limit liabilities.

Risk Communications:

Term used to describe the communication approach and practices in situations where there is a high level of public concern or anxiety such as a health emergency

Standard Operating Procedure:

A routine course of action; a normal practice.

Traceability:

The ability to trace and follow food, feed, food-producing animals or substances through all stages of production and distribution. Tags, tattoos, brands, best-before dates, billing and shipping invoices, and paper-based logbooks are examples of traceability tools used by industry and government.

Voluntary Recall:

A product recall initiated and carried out by a company that manufactured the product without being ordered to by government.

Warning (Food Safety):

A public warning alerts consumers they may have purchased or otherwise obtained a product that presents a serious hazard to health and advises them not to consume it.

Weight of Evidence:

Evidence has different weight in inducing belief or action with respect to facts or circumstances. Evidence that is indefinite, vague, or improbable will be given less weight than evidence that is direct and unrefuted.

Zoonotic:

The umbrella term describing diseases that can be passed to humans from animals.