PDA/Text VersionRelease Date: May 21, 2008
Media Contact: Erin Brown, External Relations
E-mail: erin.brown@uregina.ca
Phone: 306-585-5632
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U of R professors rank Canada fifth out of 17 industrialized countries in international food safety study
Late last year, two University of Regina professors posed the question - how safe is Canada's food supply compared to other countries? After months of research and comparative work, they have released a new study today which indicates that Canada's food safety systems are among the most thorough and effective in the world.
The Food Safety Performance World Ranking 2008, which is the first study of its kind in the world, has been produced by Sylvain Charlebois, a marketing professor in the U of R's Paul J. Hill School of Business, and Chris Yost, a biology professor who is also the Canada Research Chair in Microbes, the Environment and Food Safety. The study benchmarks Canada's food safety performance relative to that of other Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries in four major areas: consumer affairs; biosecurity and trades; governance and recalls; and traceability and management.
In the study, Canada ranks fifth out of 17 industrialized countries in terms of its practices in dealing with the risks related to safety within food systems - a strong showing, according to Charlebois.
"Canada's performance was unexpected," says Charlebois. "Canada's capacity to connect with its consumers compared to other industrialized nations is impressive. The report is evidence that Canada should be considered one of the world's leading countries in relation to food safety."
With an overall ranking of "superior," Canada finished in the same tier as the United Kingdom, which had the highest ranking of the 17 countries studied. The ranking of all OECD countries is as follows:
1. United Kingdom - Superior
2. Japan - Superior
3. Denmark - Superior
4. Australia - Superior
5. Canada - Superior
6. Finland - Average
7. United States - Average
8. Switzerland - Average
9. Norway - Average
10. Germany Average
11. Italy - Average
12. Netherlands - Average
13. Sweden - Average
14. Austria - Average
15. France - Poor
16. Belgium - Poor
17. Ireland - Poor
Charlebois and Yost hope the Food Safety Performance World Ranking 2008 will help academics, practitioners and policymakers to evaluate and strengths and weaknesses of food safety systems and processes both in Canada and beyond. The study is the first project by the Research Network in Food Systems, a not-for-profit research group based out of the U of R. The Research Network in Food Systems will produce a follow-up study in the next couple of years.
A 26-page abstract of the study can be found here.
For further information, or to receive a copy of the complete study, please contact Sylvain Charlebois by telephone at (306) 337-2695, by cell at (306) 596-8637, or by email at Sylvain.Charlebois@uregina.ca.
The Food Safety Performance World Ranking 2008, which is the first study of its kind in the world, has been produced by Sylvain Charlebois, a marketing professor in the U of R's Paul J. Hill School of Business, and Chris Yost, a biology professor who is also the Canada Research Chair in Microbes, the Environment and Food Safety. The study benchmarks Canada's food safety performance relative to that of other Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries in four major areas: consumer affairs; biosecurity and trades; governance and recalls; and traceability and management.
In the study, Canada ranks fifth out of 17 industrialized countries in terms of its practices in dealing with the risks related to safety within food systems - a strong showing, according to Charlebois.
"Canada's performance was unexpected," says Charlebois. "Canada's capacity to connect with its consumers compared to other industrialized nations is impressive. The report is evidence that Canada should be considered one of the world's leading countries in relation to food safety."
With an overall ranking of "superior," Canada finished in the same tier as the United Kingdom, which had the highest ranking of the 17 countries studied. The ranking of all OECD countries is as follows:
1. United Kingdom - Superior
2. Japan - Superior
3. Denmark - Superior
4. Australia - Superior
5. Canada - Superior
6. Finland - Average
7. United States - Average
8. Switzerland - Average
9. Norway - Average
10. Germany Average
11. Italy - Average
12. Netherlands - Average
13. Sweden - Average
14. Austria - Average
15. France - Poor
16. Belgium - Poor
17. Ireland - Poor
Charlebois and Yost hope the Food Safety Performance World Ranking 2008 will help academics, practitioners and policymakers to evaluate and strengths and weaknesses of food safety systems and processes both in Canada and beyond. The study is the first project by the Research Network in Food Systems, a not-for-profit research group based out of the U of R. The Research Network in Food Systems will produce a follow-up study in the next couple of years.
A 26-page abstract of the study can be found here.
For further information, or to receive a copy of the complete study, please contact Sylvain Charlebois by telephone at (306) 337-2695, by cell at (306) 596-8637, or by email at Sylvain.Charlebois@uregina.ca.
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