BCIT Environmental Public Health Journal最新文献

{"title":"A breath of fresh air","authors":"Elly Tseng, Dale Chen","doi":"10.47339/ephj.2020.19","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.47339/ephj.2020.19","url":null,"abstract":"Background In recent years, there have been an increasing number of wildfire events. The effects of global climate change play a big role in the severity and length of these wildfire events. Prolonged periods of wildfire smoke in the air can negatively impact health by causing respiratory distress and exacerbating pre-existing conditions. Many regions have implemented smoke mitigation methods like community clean air shelters, but risk perception can influence whether or not these methods are effectively used. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the risk perception of residents in British Columbia regarding wildfire smoke inhalation and smoke mitigation methods. Methods A survey was distributed to residents living in British Columbia to evaluate their risk perception of wildfire smoke and use of smoke mitigation methods. The online survey was created with Survey Monkey, distributed via Facebook, Twitter, and Reddit, and took approximately five minutes to complete. The results were collected in Microsoft Excel and analyzed with NCSS statistical software. Results Chi-square tests showed a significant association between gender and the risk perception of inhaling wildfire smoke, exercising outdoors during a smoke event, going outside during an air quality advisory, and the decision to find a clean air space during a smoke event. There were some associations with age and geographical region as well. Results showed that most people practice some form of smoke mitigation, such as staying indoors, seeking refuge in a clean air space, and using masks and/or portable air filters. Conclusions Based on the results, gender has a significant impact on risk perception of wildfire smoke inhalation. Other demographics, such as age, geographical region, education, and ethnicity, did not display many significant associations. This study also identified that participants may have conflicting views about the protectiveness of a surgical/cloth mask during a smoke event. Most participants practiced some form of smoke mitigation method, like staying indoors.","PeriodicalId":433101,"journal":{"name":"BCIT Environmental Public Health Journal","volume":"30 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-04-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"115589741","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"An overview of the use of placards and the potential benefits for British Columbians","authors":"Pardip Dhaliwal, H. Heacock","doi":"10.47339/ephj.2020.31","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.47339/ephj.2020.31","url":null,"abstract":"Background: Environmental Health Officers (EHOs) are responsible for assessing the risk that food establishments pose to the public through regular inspections. The results of these inspections are then posted online for the public to view in British Columbia (BC). However, cities such as Toronto and New York City, have adopted the use of placards that are visibly placed at each food establishment, as well as posting the results online. The purpose of the placards is to provide a quick method for the public to ascertain the safety of food establishments. The use of placards has been shown to increase the compliance of food operators, as well as play a role in reducing foodborne illnesses. The purpose of this study was to determine if British Columbians would like to have the results of health inspections displayed on a placard in food establishments, in addition to them being posted online. Methods: An online, self-administered survey was created on SurveyMonkey Canada and distributed to residents of BC through Facebook and Reddit. The survey took approximately five minutes to complete and responses were collected over a nine-day period. The data was then analyzed using NCSS software. Results: From the 176 respondents, it was determined that approximately 44% of people knew about health inspection reports being posted online in BC, however, only 33% of people have visited health authority websites to view the inspections. 93% of the respondents would like to see a placard system implemented in BC. Furthermore, 72% of respondents would like to see a letter grade ranking of placards as opposed to a more general “Pass”, Conditional Pass” or “Closed” system. Results indicated a statistically significant association between the desire for a placard system and selecting a restaurant to eat at (p=0.000). Whether or not one views an online inspection report had no bearing on whether a placard system was desired. (p = 0.231). There is no association between age of BC residents and the preference for placards in BC (p = 0.618). However, there was an association between the age of respondents and knowledge of online reports of health inspections (p = 0.008), indicating that younger people are less likely to know about online health inspections that older populations. Conclusion: The results of this research study indicated that residents of BC overwhelmingly support the use of placards. BC residents would also like to see a letter grade placard system implemented. Although BC residents would like to see placards in food establishments, further research is required to assess what food operators, as well as other EHOs, think about implementing a placard system in place in food establishments. \u0000 ","PeriodicalId":433101,"journal":{"name":"BCIT Environmental Public Health Journal","volume":"48 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-04-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"132476992","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Delivering disease","authors":"M. Latter, BCIT School of Health Sciences, Environmental Heal, H. Heacock","doi":"10.47339/ephj.2020.24","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.47339/ephj.2020.24","url":null,"abstract":"Background and Purpose: Online food delivery services are third party entities that deliver foods from restaurants to consumers. These services are exploding in popularity around the world. The lack of regulation in this industry creates a scenario for time temperature abuse to occur. This study specifically investigates the efficacy of thermally insulated delivery bags used ubiquitously by these online food services. Methods: 30 samples of Janes Pub-Style Chicken Nuggets were cooked for 30 minutes to an internal temperature of 74°C. The nuggets were then inserted with a SmartButton temperature data logger. The nuggets were then placed into a High-Density Polyethylene take-out container. The whole set-up was then placed into a Winco Thermally Insulated Delivery Bag for a one hour period. Time and temperature of the chicken nuggets was recorded over a one hour period to reflect realistic delivery times. Results: A correlation/regression analysis was performed which showed that as the time increased so too did the temperature. Correlational coefficient, r = -0.9363, coefficient of determination, r2 = 0.8766, (p = 0.000). The equation of the line was Temperature = (67.9996) + [(-0.6828) × Time]. Temperature of the chicken nuggets fell below 60°C after 12 minutes in the delivery bag. The median temperature of chicken nuggets after a one hour period was 44.5°C. This was found to be statistically different from the standard of 60°C with a p-value of 0.0000 Conclusion: The median temperature of chicken nuggets after the one hour sampling period did not reach the food safety standard of 60°C. Foods kept at a temperature below 60°C and above 4°C are considered in the temperature danger zone. In this range, pathogenic bacteria grow at their optimal rate. Therefore, it was determined that thermally insulated bags were unable to maintain foods at temperatures hot enough to be considered safe.","PeriodicalId":433101,"journal":{"name":"BCIT Environmental Public Health Journal","volume":"6 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-04-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"126716630","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Changes in processing and labelling of frozen chicken products available to consumers in Vancouver","authors":"K. Lutz, Dale Chen, L. McIntyre","doi":"10.47339/ephj.2020.22","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.47339/ephj.2020.22","url":null,"abstract":"Background: Between May 2017 and May 2019, 18 Salmonella outbreaks in Canada were linked to raw chicken, resulting in the recall of 13 chicken products. Most of these products contained frozen raw breaded chicken, such as chicken nuggets, chicken fries, and breaded chicken burgers. (Public Health Agency of Canada, 2019) These products are especially risky for consumers because they may appear precooked, resulting in inadequate food safety measures being taken. (Catford, Ganz, & Tamber, 2017). Due to this concern, as of April 1, 2019, all frozen raw breaded chicken product manufacturers are required to follow one of four Salmonella control measures set out by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA). The simplest option for processors is to precook their products to destroy Salmonella bacteria and produce a ready-to-eat product. (Government of Canada, Canadian Food Inspection Agency, & Food Safety and Consumer Protection Directorate, 2019a) Methods: Data was collected from all frozen chicken products available at 14 retail locations in Metro Vancouver that were randomly selected in previous studies carried out in 2018 and 2019 by the British Columbia Centre for Disease Control (BCCDC) and British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT) students. The processing status of the products surveyed in this study (n=466) was compared to those collected in the previous studies done in 2018 and 2019, respectively (n=383; n=415). Other information collected included whether product packaging contained statements of internal temperature, requirements for thermometer use, and additional food safety instructions. Data on these parameters collected in the current study (n=466) were compared to similar data collected in 2008 (n=24) and in 2018 (n=67). Photos were taken of all product labels and relevant data from the photos was compiled in Microsoft Excel. Statistical analyses were done using chi-square tests performed using NCSS 2019 software. Results: The proportion of surveyed frozen chicken products that were cooked as opposed to raw increased from 38% in 2018 to 41% in 2019 to 69% in 2020. The proportion of products containing statements regarding required internal temperatures increased from 58% in 2008 to 96% in 2018 and then decreased to 86% in 2020. 0%, 4.5%, and 1.7% of products surveyed in 2008, 2018, and 2020, respectively, included an indication to use a food thermometer. 79%, 57%, and 25% of products surveyed in the same years included additional food safety statements. Conclusions: This study showed that the ratio of cooked to uncooked frozen chicken products available to consumers in the Metro Vancouver area has increased since the CFIA’s Salmonella control measure requirements for frozen breaded chicken manufacturers were implemented in 2019. The 28% and 26% increase since 2018 and 2019, respectively, suggests that many frozen chicken product manufacturers are complying with the CFIA requirements by using a validated cook process to reduce Salm","PeriodicalId":433101,"journal":{"name":"BCIT Environmental Public Health Journal","volume":"85 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-03-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"114371952","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Measles awareness","authors":"Jeremy Chu, BCIT School of Health Sciences, Environmental Heal, H. Heacock","doi":"10.47339/ephj.2019.49","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.47339/ephj.2019.49","url":null,"abstract":"  \u0000Background Measles is a highly contagious disease which has been the cause of numerous epidemics and outbreaks worldwide. The introduction of the two-dose Mumps, Measles and Rubella (MMR) vaccine helped to reduce and eliminate the disease in various places and continues to be the most effective method of developing immunity against measles. However, due to high non-vaccination rates and low herd immunity, measles is becoming a serious public health issue again. Additionally, those born between 1970 to 1994 are more at risk of contracting measles because they may have only received one-dose of the MMR vaccine during that time, which is not sufficient to develop immunity. Due to the recent measles outbreaks in Vancouver, B.C, this project surveyed the public regarding their knowledge of measles and the MMR vaccination to determine if they are able to protect themselves from this disease. Methods An in-person survey was conducted at three institutions: British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT), University of British Columbia (UBC) and Douglas College. The first section of the survey gathered general information from the participant such as year of birth, country of birth, area of study and municipality of dwelling. The second section of the survey included various true or false and yes or no questions regarding measles, MMR vaccination and recent outbreaks. Results Thirty-four people participated in the study. Four factors were analyzed using the chi-square. There was no statistically significant association found between any of the factors, including, country of birth vs. vaccination status (p=0.3952), year of birth vs. vaccination status (p=0.2563), country of birth vs. knowledge of MMR (p=0.7903) and area of study vs. knowledge of MMR (p=0.9875). It is possible that due to small sample size, there was insufficient power to detect any associations. Conclusions Out of the 34 participants, 21 were vaccinated, 4 were not vaccinated and 9 had an unknown vaccination status. Although the chi-square tests showed no association between any of the factors, the descriptive data still shows that we’ve only achieved a herd immunity of slightly over 50% was achieved within our survey population, which is not high enough to protect against measles. This can be a great opportunity for health authorities to educate individuals who are vaccine hesitant or refuse to immu \u0000 ","PeriodicalId":433101,"journal":{"name":"BCIT Environmental Public Health Journal","volume":"2014 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-05-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"128155855","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"So you think you can cook pot?","authors":"M. Cai, BCIT School of Health Sciences, Environmental Heal, H. Heacock","doi":"10.47339/ephj.2019.51","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.47339/ephj.2019.51","url":null,"abstract":"  \u0000Background: With regulations on additional cannabis products including edibles being in the works, Canada is faced with a new layer of food safety challenges as the public becomes increasingly curious about adding cannabis into their diets. Knowledge in both food safety and edible safety is essential to prevent health hazards associated with edible cannabis products. Methods: An online self-administered survey was conducted on a British Columbia population. In addition to demographic data which also included cannabis usage, participants answered two knowledge tests on food safety and edible safety, respectively. The surveys were analyzed for differences in test scores between demographic groups. Results: Users of cannabis edibles have significantly higher knowledge in edible safety than non-users. This was not affected by the purpose or frequency of edible use. A slight positive correlation (0.18) between food safety knowledge and edible safety knowledge suggested the two topic areas to be mutually beneficial. In contrary, knowledge in food safety was not significantly different across all demographic groups. Conclusions: Non-users of cannabis edibles are more at risk of health hazards related to ingestion of cannabis edibles due to lower knowledge in this subject matter and eagerness to experience cannabis products after their legalization. Therefore, there is a need for education programs to help familiarize the public with these products. It is also recommended for the public to strengthen general food safety knowledge because all of it also applies when making edibles. \u0000 ","PeriodicalId":433101,"journal":{"name":"BCIT Environmental Public Health Journal","volume":"1 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-04-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"128296518","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Did anyone get sick this weekend?","authors":"Calvin Tan, Dale Chen, L. Dix-Cooper, L. McIntyre","doi":"10.47339/EPHJ.2019.40","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.47339/EPHJ.2019.40","url":null,"abstract":"  \u0000Background Recreational water illnesses are not as well known as food borne illnesses in the media. There are several pathogens associated with ingesting surface water including Giardia, Cryptosporidium, and Toxoplasmosis. The use of technology for public health surveillance is also little known to the public and can provide much insight into other illnesses on social media not otherwise reported to public health and medical professionals. Illnesses on social media could represent a portion of unreported cases. These cases could be found on social media as a popular outlet for individual expression. Methods Social media posts were found using a variety of keywords including symptoms of significant waterborne illnesses and terms associated with human and environmental contamination. Social media posts were collected from forums and popular social media platforms such as reddit. The posts were then correlated with beach water quality data for a sampling site as geographically close to a case location as possible. Results Social media and water quality data collected from the Columbia river region were correlated. The correlation coefficient of 0.2335 indicates that there is no correlation between social media posts and beach water quality data. Numerous limitations may have impacted the correlation coefficient. Keywords associated with symptoms were more effective in obtaining quality threads and posts compared to other terms. Conclusions Correlating social media posts to water quality data in the Columbia river region does not provide statistically significant results. Manual gathering of social media data for public health surveillance is found to be inefficient and impractical. Further study is required in order to determine the effectiveness of using social media for public health data gathering. It remains to be seen whether correlating posts about illness on social media to water quality data is an effective method of surveillance for public health. \u0000 ","PeriodicalId":433101,"journal":{"name":"BCIT Environmental Public Health Journal","volume":"1 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-04-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"131118607","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The effect of probiotics as a starter culture for producing yogurt","authors":"Sung A Jegal","doi":"10.47339/ephj.2019.41","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.47339/ephj.2019.41","url":null,"abstract":"  \u0000Background: Many comprising studies showed that probiotics can manifest antimicrobial activity. Due to positive health effects of probiotics, they have been added in a fermentation of various foods to increase the nutrient content and to improve the quality of the foods. Furthermore, probiotics are used as a starter culture for several fermented foods like a yogurt. Probiotics may contain strains that are capable of initiating fermentation of the foods, however, a safety of the foods is not certain. Therefore, the study is done to analyze use of probiotics as a starter culture for a yogurt. Methods: The study was designed to analyze the pH pattern of three different yogurt groups (control, commercial starter culture, and probiotics). Each group had three samples that were made using Dairyland 2% milk and corresponding cultures. The control group samples were not inoculated with any culture. The commercial starter culture group samples were inoculated with Yogourtmet Freeze-Dried Starter and the probiotics group samples were inoculated with probiotic capsule, Jamieson 10 Billion Probiotic. The samples were incubated for 7 hours and every 45 minutes the pH was measured using Hanna Professional Portable Yogurt pH Meter. Results: The statistical analysis of the pH measurement showed significant different between the control groups and other two groups. The control group samples pH decreased a bit, but it was not enough to turn the samples to a yogurt. The pH pattern of the commercial group samples showed rapid decrease in pH after 180 minutes and the average pH of the last reading was 4.10. The pH of the probiotics group samples decreased linearly, and the average pH of the last reading was 4.58. Conclusions: The commercial starter culture and the probiotics group samples initiated fermentation and enough acidification occurred to decrease the pH below 4.6. With 7 hours of incubation period, the probiotics group samples just met the pH that makes the yogurt safe to consume. Therefore, the use of the probiotics as a starter culture for producing yogurt can be suggested with adequate incubation period. \u0000 ","PeriodicalId":433101,"journal":{"name":"BCIT Environmental Public Health Journal","volume":"34 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"1900-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"115828386","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A comparison of Escherichia coli data collected in False Creek by Metro Vancouver and Fraser Riverkeeper","authors":"Anastasia Wilcott","doi":"10.47339/ephj.2019.39","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.47339/ephj.2019.39","url":null,"abstract":"Background: False Creek is a small inlet centered within Vancouver, British Columbia. Its long and narrow shape facilitates the build-up of contaminants and limits dilution of fresh water. The lack of flushing coupled with sources of fecal contamination results in high levels of Escherichia coli particularly in the summer months. High levels of E. coli in recreational water pose a health hazard to the public. Two organizations Metro Vancouver and Fraser Riverkeeper monitored E. coli levels in False Creek over the 2018 summer season. Methods: Data collected by Metro Vancouver and Fraser Riverkeeper over the 2018 summer season was collected and compared. The secondary data was analyzed from July 8, 2018 to September 29, 2018 from thirty-day geometric means. Each organization sampled on a weekly basis in False Creek, Metro Vancouver sampled from twelve locations and Fraser Riverkeeper sampled from seven locations. Both organizations used similar methodologies in the collection of data with both analyzing for microbiological enumerations of most probable number [MPN] of E. coli per 100/mL samples. All sample sites were divided into three locations representative of False Creek: West, Central and East. The data was then analyzed in terms of overall weekly samples by organization, locational weekly samples by organization and locational weekly samples overall. Results: The data was analyzed using an Aspin Welch Unequal Variance T-test to compare the overall weekly E. coli counts between the organization. Where p = 0.000 and power = 1.00. An Equal Variance T-test was used to compare the locational weekly E. coli counts from the West, Central and East regions of each organization. This yielded a p = 0.000 where power = 1.00. A Kruskal Wallis One-Way ANOVA was used to compare the locational weekly E. coli counts from the West, Central and East regions. This found p = 0.000 and power = 1.00. A MANOVA was used as a reiteration to compare the weekly E. coli counts at each location (West, Central and East) when collected by each organization. This confirmed the same p-value and power results from the three previous tests. Conclusions: There is a statistically significant difference between the two organizations. Not only in overall samples but there is a statistically significant difference between the two organizations when E. coli is amalgamated by location. When accounting for location only, the East region obtained statistically higher E. coli counts as the mean E. coli count for West was 90.8, Central was 248 and East was 1040. \u0000 ","PeriodicalId":433101,"journal":{"name":"BCIT Environmental Public Health Journal","volume":"3 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"1900-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"133769018","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Prevelance of Listeria in produce","authors":"Christine Sweezey","doi":"10.47339/ephj.2019.50","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.47339/ephj.2019.50","url":null,"abstract":"  \u0000Background: Fruits, vegetables, and ready to eat processed produce are vulnerable to bacteria contamination during production, harvesting, transportation, packaging, and distribution. Agencies like the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA), and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulate and create legislative policies to ensure the food is safe for public consumption. When a product does not meet CFIA or FDA regulations or if the product is tested positive to biological, chemical, or physical contamination the product will be recalled. The main objective of this study is to determine if Listeria monocytogenes recalls in produce have increased over the last ten years. Listeria is a food-borne pathogen that is often overlooked and underreported. The diagnosis of Listeriosis can be difficult because symptoms can take up to 70 days to surface. Despite this, it is responsible for 41% of food-borne deaths in Canada. Methods: To determine if Listeria has increased over the last ten years, food recalls were collected from the CFIA, FDA, Food and Safety Inspection Service (FSIS), and Health Canada websites and recorded in Microsoft Excel. All food recalls were counted and analyzed using a one-tailed T-Test conducted in NCSS. Results: The study concluded that produce recalls due to the pathogen Listeria have increased by 60% over the last ten years. During the years of 2016 to 2018 the top pathogen responsible for food recalls was Listeria followed by the pathogens Salmonella and Escherichia coli. The study also concluded that total food recalls during the years of 2016 to 2018 was 45% higher than ten years ago. Conclusion: The results of this study could indicate that there is a need to increase traceability by obtaining produce through approved sources. This could allow for stricter policies, programs, and legislation regarding the use of irrigation water during production and identify breakdowns in sanitation procedures during processing and distribution. \u0000 ","PeriodicalId":433101,"journal":{"name":"BCIT Environmental Public Health Journal","volume":"22 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"1900-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"114178758","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}