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The province is launching a panel, led by former Calgary police chief Rick Hanson, to review legislation and regulations that govern food safety
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The kitchen at the centre of a large-scale E. coli outbreak that tore through Calgary daycare communities early this month has been charged under city bylaws for operating without a business licence.
In a Wednesday morning news release, the City of Calgary said it issued 12 charges to Fueling Minds and the kitchen operation’s two directors under the city’s Business Licensing Bylaw. The charges came after city business safety officers found the kitchen had been providing third-party food services to five local childcare centres that were not owned by the company, for which it did not hold a proper business licence.
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If convicted, fines could total as much as $120,000.
Dozens of children have been sickened by the bacterial infection, though the number of new cases has tapered off in the last week. As of Wednesday, there are 351 lab-confirmed cases of the bacterial infection and a total of 37 cases tied to secondary spread. Four children remain in hospital.
More than 1,000 children who attended the 19 daycares ordered closed amid the outbreak have been allowed to return.
Calgary bylaw officers have been investigating Fueling Minds since the news of the outbreak broke.
The city said the province handles licensure and regulations for commercial daycare centres, including food preparation or food service contained within these centres. However, a local business licence is needed for a third-party food services business.
“It is of utmost importance that businesses in Calgary have the proper licences in order to ensure a safer environment for Calgarians and the employees who work at such locations,” said Michael Briegel, the city’s deputy chief of business safety. “While the vast majority of businesses do comply, those that don’t could be putting people at risk. The City of Calgary takes this very seriously.”
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Panel to take broader look at policy
Premier Danielle Smith said the province will establish a third-party panel, led by former Calgary police chief Rick Hanson, to take a “broader look at the legislation and regulations that govern food safety in our province.” The panel will also feature parents, childcare and food service operators, and food safety and public health experts.
“I had the opportunity to meet with some of the parents at the hospital, where they watched helplessly as their children battled the effects of the E. coli bacteria,” she said. “During our conversation, some parents mentioned that they wished that the kitchen inspection reports were posted at the daycare where they could be seen, not just online. This is one example of potential policy changes that the panel needs to examine.”
The premier recently tasked Health Minister Adriana LaGrange and Children and Family Services Minister Searle Turton with reviewing food safety in kitchens that provide food in licensed childcare facilities to help create new regulations.
Smith said the city’s bylaw charge will not mark the end of repercussions for the kitchen — owned by the same operators as Fueling Brains Academy, a daycare chain that had six locations closed as the outbreak began on Sept. 4.
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“It’s not the end of what we’ll be doing as a consequence,” said the premier. “This is just, I think, the first measure that you saw the city take based on their area of jurisdiction … and the consequences are severe. So I would hope that every facility is making sure that they’re in full compliance with all of their permits.”
The province’s compassionate payment program, offering a one-time $2000 cheque to parents of children who attended the 11 facilities originally tied to the outbreak and eight more shuttered due to secondary spread, has received 775 applications since opening Monday, said Smith.
Meatloaf, vegan loaf the likely culprit
Alberta’s top doctor, Dr. Mark Joffe, said health officials have pointed to meatloaf and vegan loaf served by Fueling Minds on Aug. 29 as the meal with “extremely high odds of being the source of infection” — the same conclusion several parents came to within days of the outbreak being declared.
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“Unfortunately, neither of these items could be tested as they were either eaten or discarded before this outbreak was identified. While we now have a likely source, we do not know exactly what was contaminated or how,” said the chief medical officer of health. “I do not want to speculate at this point on the answers to these two questions, as the investigation remains extremely active and is ongoing.”
The investigation has been comprehensive, with Joffe noting health investigators spoke with hundreds of people, including parents, daycare staff, kitchen staff and food delivery drivers — cross-referencing those interviews with children’s attendance and meal plans, as well as kitchen controls and food delivery. He said inspectors tested 44 food items, five milk samples and five oat beverage samples.
Joffe said the province will bring in a third party to review health officials’ findings.
mrodriguez@postmedia.com
X: @MichaelRdrguez
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