Province seeks feedback on food safety

By Al Beeber - Lethbridge Herald on March 27, 2025.

LETHBRIDGE HERALDabeeber@lethbridgeherald.com

The Alberta government is seeking public feedback on efforts to shape the future of food safety in the province.
After a 2003 E. coli outbreak at Calgary child care facilities, the government established an external review panel to identifying ways of strengthening food safety legislation and inspection process in kitchens that service licenced child-care facilities.
The panel’s report last summer outlined 12 main recommendations as well as 27 sub-recommendations.
Starting on Wednesday, the government launched an online survey for Alberta residents “to help inform the implementation of the review  panel’s recommendations and Alberta’s public health legislation,  regulations, and policies related to food safety.”
That survey can be accessed at https://www.alberta.ca/food-safety-engagement
If implemented, some recommendations may also affect the broader food service industry, says the government.
“Public engagement is a key part of our commitment to doing everything  we can to protect Alberta’s most vulnerable populations. The feedback  we receive will give us a full perspective, helping ensure we consider  every angle as we look to make changes to current food safety regulations,” said Alberta health minister Adriana LaGrange in a media statement.
In the Sept. 4 2023 outbreak in 11 licenced Calgary child-care facilities linked to a shared kitchen 448 cases of E.coli were determined to be associated to it. Those included 359 laboratory confirmed cases and 89 probably cases. Thirty-eight children and one  adult were hospitalized.

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