PHAC Statement on a Listeria Monocytogenes Outbreak

Backgrounder: Canada's Foodborne Illness Outbreak Response Protocol

Foodborne illness may result from the natural, accidental or malicious contamination of foods by microbiological or chemical substances. Impacts of foodborne illness may include death and illness, increased health care costs, loss of consumer confidence, economic losses, and lost productivity to industry.

Foodborne illness outbreaks associated with widely distributed foods can produce cases of human illness that cross local, provincial/territorial and international boundaries. Government agencies and departments with responsibility for human health and food safety respond collaboratively through established foodborne illness surveillance networks.

The Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) plays a leading role in national disease surveillance. In collaboration with provincial and territorial governments, the Agency collects and reports on national infectious disease trends to support public health action.
 
Responsibility for responding to foodborne illness outbreaks is shared among local and regional health authorities, provincial/territorial governments and the Government of Canada.  Each level of government has a significant role to play. Effective response to a potential or confirmed foodborne illness outbreak requires cooperation and collaboration among all levels of government to ensure the timely management of risk and the prevention of further illness.

In responding to an outbreak, PHAC follows guidelines under an established protocol with provinces and territories (Foodborne Illness Outbreak Response Protocol – FIORP). Under this protocol, PHAC collaborates with provincial and territorial Ministries of Health and local Public Health Authorities in outbreaks of significant national interest, or outbreaks that involve more than one jurisdiction. In these situations, PHAC assumes the overall lead.

The principles outlined in the Protocol can serve as a guide when human illnesses are caused by contaminated food, non-food sources (e.g., contaminated pet treats, petting zoo animals, pets, etc.) or other food hazards requiring quick collaboration and coordination (e.g. physical hazards such as bones in fish or meat products).

The objective of the Protocol is to formalize established practices between the levels of government when they respond to potential multi-jurisdictional foodborne illness outbreaks, in order to improve collaboration and coordination.

The Protocol is available at:
http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/ed-ud/respond/food-aliment/fiorp-priti_02-eng.php