Cultivating Science blog posts - 2024

When it comes to pin-pointing sources of food-borne illness, tracking detections of a new invasive plant pest, or studying the spread of an animal disease, geographic data is a powerful tool that helps the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) respond effectively to challenges and emergencies.

Canada’s agriculture and agri-food system employs about 2.3 million people and generates over $150 billion of Canada's gross domestic product (GDP). It is a complex system that is safeguarded by Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) employees and is known as one of the best food safety systems in the world.

In late August 2022, Ontario public health authorities notified the Public Health Agency of Canada of 12 cases of an unknown foodborne illness in York, Ontario. Early observations from local public health authorities identified symptoms consistent with aconitine poisoning.

Over time, plants can become hosts to many viruses that cause serious plant diseases. This is especially true for long-lived perennial fruit plants like apples, cherries, or blueberries. That is why it is important to rapidly detect new viruses before they can become a threat to our food production.

International scientific collaboration on animal disease prevention, diagnosis, response and management must keep pace with the globalization of our economies and societies. Increased trade, population growth and climate change lead to new challenges in managing the spread of animal diseases. This includes zoonoses – diseases that can spread between animals and humans.

My name is Mike Reid and I am a proud L’nu Mi'kmaq. I embarked on my career with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) back in 2009 as a laboratory technician at the (former) St. John's Laboratory in Newfoundland. Drawn to new opportunities, I transferred to Ottawa in 2011 and joined the Ottawa Laboratory (Carling), where I focused on food diagnostic testing.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) monitors the levels of pesticide residues in food to ensure that any residues detected do not exceed levels considered safe for human health. The challenge for regulatory agencies like the CFIA is how to monitor as many of these compounds as possible while also maintaining efficiency and accuracy. Modern technology offers new strategies to achieve this balance.

Potato wart is a disease of potatoes caused by the fungus Synchytrium endobioticum – a particularly hardy and persistent pest. While potato wart does not pose a risk to human or animal health, the disease can deform potato tubers, making them unmarketable, and reduce crop yields.

Could you identify a plant seed out of hundreds of thousands of species, or tell the difference between the seed of a crop and an invasive species?

We all know that fresh fruits and vegetables are an important part of a healthy, balanced diet. These crops are also used to make foods like juices, cereals and pasta, and feed the animals that add eggs, meat and dairy to our diets.

As I write this, it is hard to believe that my time at the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) is coming to an end! Looking back on my career at the Agency in several different roles, I can honestly say that it has been both a privilege and a pleasure.