A review panel has issued more than three dozen recommendations after a widespread e. coli outbreak impacted daycares in the Calgary region last year.
The E. coli outbreak last September affected 17 daycares, including one in Okotoks, that got meals from the same central kitchen in Calgary.
Premier Danielle Smith, Minister of Health Adriana LaGrange and Minister of Jobs, Economy and Trade Matt Jones shared details of the panel’s findings during a press conference on July 29.
LaGrange said the scale of the outbreak was unprecedented.
“For many families, this was an extraordinarily difficult period, marked by weeks of uncertainty and fear and distress,” LaGrange said.
During the 51-day outbreak, 448 cases of E. coli occurred and 39 people, including 38 children, were hospitalized, she said.
Smith said some patients continue to need long-term health support.
In response to the outbreak, a panel was appointed in October to review food safety in licensed child-care centres and in kitchens that provide meals.
The panel, headed by former Calgary police chief Rick Hanson, was made up of childcare operators, a food service operator and subject matter experts.
During the review process, insights were also gathered from affected families, childcare providers, organizations and the public, LaGrange said.
“This collaborative approach ensured that the recommendations would be both practical and effective,” she said.
“Through these sessions, we learned that parents and operators want children to be in an environment where food handling practices are consistently followed.”
Twelve primary recommendations and 27 sub-recommendations were made that focus on three key themes, which are fostering a culture of food safety, improving legislation and inspection systems, and improving system alignment and integration, LaGrange said.
Some recommendations can be implemented immediately, while others will be brought in over time, the Province said.
Work has begun to increase the frequency of public health inspections at childcare centres and to raise awareness of ways that parents or staff can report concerns. Planning is also underway to require childcare providers to publicly display the most recent health inspection report, she said.
“These recommendations are thorough and provide us a road map by which we can start to make changes that will improve food safety and better protect young Albertans in childcare facilities,” LaGrange said.
Jones said measures to promote food safety will include mandatory training.
“We will work with our colleagues in Alberta Health to develop a process to require staff and volunteers to sign statements on food safety culture as part of their ongoing training,” Jones said.
He said more information would be available in the coming weeks and months about recommendations that will take longer to implement.
An AHS investigation into the outbreak found that a beef meatloaf originating from a central kitchen had high odds of being the source of the infection.
Fueling Minds, the catering company and school lunch delivery service provider that is at the centre of the investigation, was charged by the City of Calgary on Sept. 27 for serving food to childcare centres without a licence.
The company and its operators plead not guilty and will appear in court in September in Calgary.