by Anne Finlay-Stewart

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) does periodic testing of products sold in Canada, whether they are processed in this country or not. When samples test positive for bacteria which can cause human illness, CFIA may recall the product, asking retailers and consumers to discard it for safety.

The President's Choice Moroccan-style Hummus with a best before date of June 14, 2015 is one such food product. The public was warned not to eat it when the recall was announced Monday. Unfortunately, one of our staff ate it last Thursday. He has spent the last three days wondering why he felt so miserable. The information in the recall notice might, or might not, have given him the answer.

"Food contaminated with Staphylococcus toxin may not look or smell spoiled. The toxin produced by Staphylococcus bacteria is not easily destroyed at normal cooking temperatures. Common symptoms of Staphylococcus poisoning are nausea, vomiting, abdominal cramping and fever. In severe cases of illness, headache, muscle cramping and changes in blood pressure and pulse rate may occur."

The end of the notice reads "There have been no reported illnesses associated with the consumption of this product." So our responsible staff member called Public Health to report his illness. The Inspector to whom he spoke was concerned and informative, but explained that it is difficult to directly attribute an illness to a food without lab work. A visit to the family doctor would be required, and it would be best to try to retrieve the original hummus container from a friend's recycling bin in Meaford. Of course, our staff member has now been unproductive for several days and is not eager to lose any more time to this episode of food poisoning. He does not feel he needs medical treatment, and is reluctant to take up resources of the health care system to confirm – possibly, if it is not too late – his self-diagnosis. When he received a call from a second Public Health staff member, he asked about information from lab tests. "Would it be helpful?" he asked. "Would it be useful to anyone?" The answer was the telephone equivalent of a shrug. "It's up to CFIA what they do with it. We pass it along to them."

CFIA's understanding was that actually lab results are sent by hospitals to a Public Health Canada database. Their program in turn could flag a problem that needed action by CFIA – such as, yes, a recall. But...in this case, the culprit may already have been taken out of circulation.

A conversation further up the local Public Health ladder clarified that they can provide test kits for this type of toxin, given appropriate time to prepare the paperwork and protocols, and it can provide information that may keep more vulnerable people safer.

We may never know if this recalled product was the cause of this illness, but it gave us pause. Even with one of the best public health systems in the world, assuring safety in the industrial food system remains a challenge. Wash your hands, keep your food at a safe temperature, see your health care provider if you are sick, pay attention when a product is recalled. And hope that you hear about them before the container is in the recycling.