Bacterial pathogens and indicators, viruses, and parasites in various food commodities - April 1, 2020, to March 31, 2024

An interim report provides preliminary results related to on-going targeted surveys^{Footnote 1} which can vary in duration from several months to several years depending on the objective of each survey.

Yes, upon conclusion of the surveys, final reports or scientific publications will be published.

The presence of bacterial pathogens and indicators, viruses, and parasites was investigated in a variety of foods of the following commodities:

• raw dairy milk cheese
• fresh and frozen fruits and vegetables
• oysters
• baby food
• tahini
• raw shelled nuts
• kimchi
• cream-filled pastries
• poppy seeds

The selected foods are all commonly consumed by Canadians of all ages^{Footnote 2}. Unfortunately, most of these commodities have been associated with recalls and outbreaks of foodborne illnesses. Contamination with pathogens can occur at any step in the food supply chain such as during production, processing, packaging, distribution, and/or at retail. Given that most of the commodities covered by this report are consumed without further preparation, the presence of pathogens creates the potential for foodborne illness.

The samples were collected from April 1, 2020, to March 31, 2024. This report covers a period of 4 fiscal years (2020 to 2021, 2021 to 2022, 2022 to 2023 and 2023 to 2024) with a fiscal year being a 12-month period from April 1 to March 31 of the following year.

Samples were collected from national retail chains and local/regional grocery stores located in 11 major cities across Canada:

• Halifax
• Moncton
• Quebec City
• Montreal
• Toronto
• Ottawa
• Vancouver
• Victoria
• Calgary
• Saskatoon
• Winnipeg

A sample consisted of a single or multiple consumer-size packages from the same lot weighing at least 250g. The planned number of samples to be collected from each city was based on the population of the province in which the city was located relative to the total population of Canada.

Samples were analyzed using analytical methods published in Health Canada's Compendium of Analytical Methods for the Microbiological Analysis of Foods^{Footnote 3}, CFIA internally developed methods, methods from other organizations such as ISO or FDA BAM, and methods that detect the presence of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) of Cyclospora and Giardia.

The samples were assessed using criteria (tables 1, 2, 3) based on the principles of the following Health Canada documents: Health Products and Food Branch (HPFB) Standards and Guidelines for Microbiological Safety of Food – An Interpretive Summary^{Footnote 4}, Policy on Listeria monocytogenes in Ready-to-Eat Foods^{Footnote 5}, and the Food and Drugs Act (Section 4 (1))^{Footnote 6}. In the absence of Health Canada standards, policies, or guidelines, the assessment criteria are based on guidelines developed by international food safety authorities. Detailed information about the assessment criteria used for each commodity will be provided in the final reports or scientific publications which will be published after the surveys have concluded.

Details about each targeted survey and test results (as of March 31, 2024) can be found in table 4.

All results are used to:

• inform risk management decisions
• support program design and re-design

All investigative and unsatisfactory results triggered appropriate follow-up actions such as:

• on site visit of the manufacturer
• follow-up with the importer
• review of hygiene and sanitation procedures
• review of production and distribution records
• review of previous laboratory test results
• additional sampling and testing
• food recalls

All of the results reported herein are considered preliminary, as the targeted surveys are still ongoing. Therefore, the data will only be accessible to the public on the Open Government portal following the publication of the final report or scientific publication.