Month: October 2009

Cooked turkey is a central part of many holiday celebrations in Canada – especially Thanksgiving. Health Canada and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency would like to remind all Canadians of some steps they can take to help ensure their turkey feast is a safe one.

Click here for more information.

Turkey Safety

Government of Canada reminds Canadians of turkey safety This Thanksgiving

2010-05-17 14:41:42

The Toronto Star has reported that a women in Ontario has launched a $600,000 lawsuit against the telecom giant Rogers Communication.

The lady was having an affair and had her cell phone bill mailed to her address for her attention only. However, at some point in time Rogers ended up sending a consolidated bill with her cell phone bill included in the families regular bill.

Her husband noticed the calls and eventually discovered she was having an affair to which she and the other party admitted.

The lady lost her job where she was getting paid $100,000 and also had her husband leave.

Rogers is taking the position that the marriage was already in trouble and that they were not responsible for what happened.

This will be a very interesting lawsuit.

Rehan Khalil is a lawyer in Mississauga. If you need a lawyer call the law office of Rehan Khalil today.

The Toronto Star reported:

Consumers will soon be able to find out about product recalls at the store checkout as part of a system designed to help retailers and manufacturers act quickly to remove hazardous products from store shelves, the developers of the program say.

Whether it's tainted meat or poisonous lead in toys, Canadian manufacturers and retailers will be able to identify and communicate more accurately which products need to be recalled under a program developed by GS1 Canada, said the head of product development Tim White.

In continuing on with yesterday's story about BPA it should be noted that traces of BPA have been found in products that state they are BPA free.

Dr. Brown's Natural Flow bottle that has received much praise for being BPA free actually isn’t.

Click here for article.

A new study by the, “University of North Carolina and British Columbia’s Simon Fraser University is the first to examine the link between prenatal BPA exposure and behaviour problems in children.”

The study revealed that:

Daughters of women who were exposed to a common chemical found in plastics, while they were pregnant are more likely to show aggressive and hyperactive behaviours as two-year-olds, a new study shows.

Click here for article.

By now you have probably heard a lot about Bisphenol A (BPA). BPA is a chemical used in the production of polycarbonate plastic and exposy resins.

According to Health Canada:

Polycarbonate is used in food contact materials such as beverage bottles, infant feeding bottles, food containers, processing equipment and other articles. BPA is often found in clear hard plastics and can be in the lining of some food cans.

According to Toxic Nation:

Bisphenol A is a hormone disruptor. Studies have linked low-dose BPA exposure with such effects as: permanent changes to genital tract; increase prostate weight; decline in testosterone; breast cells predisposed to cancer; prostate cells more sensitive to hormones and cancer; hyperactivity and obesity.

Since 2008 Canada has been the first country in the world to recognize the serious health hazards posed by BPA. As a result, the Canadian government considers BPA toxic under the Canada Environmental Protection Act 1999.

Subsequent reports regarding BPA have been investigated by the government. Since, newborn infants are most at risk this summer, June 26, 2009 the:

Government of Canada announced that it is moving forward with proposed regulations to prohibit the advertisement, sale and importation of polycarbonate plastic baby bottles that contain bisphenol A, otherwise known as BPA, to reduce newborn and infant exposure to this substance.

What is Health Canada doing about the problem? Click here.

With the Fall season here many people will be attending local agricultural fairs that also host petting zoos. The largest fair in Ontario the Canadian National Exhibition is now closed for the season. However, there are others that will continue on until late November and sometimes further into the winter season.

As we have seen recently, fairs and petting zoos can be dangerous places due to the possible transmission of pathogens that could pose serious health hazards for children and the elderly.  This is largely the result of direct contact with animals. Two very common illness could be e-coli and salmonella.

Just recently, two e-coli outbreaks occurred at a British Columba petting zoo and one in the UK.

Over the last few years there have been e-coli outbreaks at a Florida petting zoo, Lane County in Oregon, North Carolina State Fair, County fair, Fort Bend County, Texas, Petting Zoo, Zutphen, The Netherlands, Farm, Wellington, New Zealand, Washington County Fair and the Agricultural Fair, Ontario to name but a few.

Recently, a Microbiologist cautioned parents to ensure their children were practising safe hand hygiene when visiting fairs and petting zoos.

In the United States, in 2003 the Pennsylvania Legislature passed the Senate Bill No. 1325 that was in response to a 2002 e.coli outbreak at a Montgomery County petting zoo. The law was aimed at protecting fair and petting zoo visitors.

In 2005 North Carolina passed the Aedin’s Law in response to an e-coli outbreak in 2004 at the North Carolina State Fair.

Ontario does not have a specific law that addresses such problems. I am not certain whether British Columbia has any such laws but it might consider the option given the recent outbreak.

Last year it was reported that a class action had been filed against Dannon the makers of yogurt products such as Activia and others. The lawsuit alleged that Dannon’s own studies failed to support that the yogurt products were “clinically” and “scientifically” proven to have health benefits as boasted by their marketing campaigns.

The Los Angeles Times reported that Dannon has agreed to settle the action for $35 million dollars. The money will go into a consumer fund to reimburse customers.

Also:

As part of the settlement, the company agreed to make changes to the labeling and advertising of Activia and DanActive by increasing the visibility of the scientific names of the "probiotic" cultures in the yogurts, court documents said. Dannon also agreed to remove the word "immunity" from its DanActive products.

DanActive labels that say the yogurt has "a positive effect on your digestive tract's immune system" will be reworded to say the yogurt will "interact with your digestive tract's immune system."

The National Geographic Green Guide for Everyday Living has provided an easy to use list of common toxic chemicals that are found in everyday products. The article suggests that the average adult uses approximately 9 different personal care products a day that can cause exposure to over 120 different chemicals.

Check it out here.

Again the Facebook profile of a Plaintiff in a personal injury law suit has been ordered to be produced by an Ontario Judge.

In Wice v. The Dominion of Canada General Insurance Company the Plaintiff was a 35 year old man who suffered a brain injury in a motor vehicle accident. He started an action against his own insurance company for accident benefits specifically, medical and rehabilitation & accident benefits.

The Plaintiff alleged that due to his impairment he was unable to respond to emergency situations and required 24 hour attendant care at a cost of $5000 per month for life.

The Defendants brought a motion seeking among other things access to his separation papers and the preservation and production of his Facebook profile.

The Judge ordered his separation papers be produced since they likely shed light on his ability to take care of his son.

In terms of the Facebook profile the Judge stated:

The case at bar, while not a tort case, does raise the issue of Mr. Wice’s ability to function - at least in certain defined circumstances. As I have already pointed out, his ability to function in a wide range of social situations may be circumstantial evidence from which a trier of fact could draw an inference about his ability to function in the defined circumstances in issue. The Defendant has produced evidence demonstrating that there are relevant photographs of the Plaintiff participating in social activities posted on his Facebook profile. The court may also infer from the nature of the Facebook service, that other relevant documents are likely included in the Plaintiff’s profile.

Accordingly, I order that the Plaintiff produce a further and better Affidavit of Documents within 30 days which is to include relevant documents contained in his Facebook account, or any other similar account.

The Country Cottage Restaurant located in Locust Grove, OK faces a lawsuit brought by 14 people who allege to have become ill due to an e-coli outbreak at the restaurant. One of the victims was reported to have been in a coma for three weeks as his, “liver, kidney and digestive system shut down, and his family was told he probably wouldn't make it.”

Another victim a 26 year old actually died.

The article can be found here and states:

While the state Health Department was never able to pinpoint the exact source of the outbreak at Country Cottage, the victims' lawyer says that doesn't mean the restaurant isn't liable. Country Cottage's lawyer was unavailable for comment Wednesday afternoon.

The recent edition of the ABA Journal published an interesting article entitled, Hungry for Change.

The article discusses the history of the American food history and the recent rise of food related illness.

While on the one hand tougher legislation might soon start to get through the door. On the other hand, manufacturers are voicing their concern about keeping up with newer measures that will likely cost more and involve additional red tape. The article predicts that litigation might actually increase because of new legislation and regulations.

Of course, there is also concern for the local farmers who might not be able to keep up with the amendments.

The article states:

While the agency performed 35,000 domestic food inspections in 1973, it performed only 18,000 in 2007, said Peter B. Hutt II, a former chief counsel to the FDA, in testimony before Congress in 2008. Hutt now is in private practice at Covington & Burling in Washington, D.C.

If anything, says Hutt, the pressures on the FDA have steadily intensified. He notes that Congress has adopted some 120 new laws that have expanded the FDA’s responsibilities without commensurate increases in funding. Among those new responsibilities are diet supplements, food allergies, food transport and nutritional labeling. And earlier this year, Congress added the regulation of tobacco products to the FDA’s tasks.

I suspect Canada might face similar problems.