The Thunder Bay District Health Unit seized more than 550 kilograms of frozen seafood and other meats from a local restaurant, deeming the food potentially unsafe for human consumption.
The District Health Unit’s Lee Sieswerda, manager of the environmental health department, says the food was transported from Toronto in an unrefrigerated truck, and while the owner of the China House said he believes it was still frozen upon arrival, the health unit wasn’t taking any chances.
Late last month the Toronto Health Unit made the discovery that Toronto Seafood was shipping frozen seafood in non refrigerated trucks to various locations in Ontario.
Sieswerda said the health unit was notified on Sept. 9 that the China House was the recipient of one of the shipments.
The following day a public health inspector went to the McIntyre Centre restaurant and questioned the owner, where he learned a shipment had indeed left Toronto on Sept. 5 and arrived in Thunder Bay on Sept. 6.
“Because of the likelihood the product may have thawed in transit and may have spoiled, the food was designated unfit for human consumption. At that time the inspectors verbally ordered the restaurant owner to refrain from serving any more food from that shipment,” Sieswerda said.
The next afternoon the food was seized.
It has been refrozen and is currently being held in a health-unit freezer for three weeks, pending a possible appeal of the seizure by China House owners.
Sieswerda said it doesn’t appear any food-borne illnesses have occurred as a result, but cautioned that between the time the food arrived in Thunder Bay and the Sept. 11 seizure, some of the food may have been served to the public.
“The investigation is ongoing,” he said.
“We’re still doing an investigation to determine if it’s appropriate to lay any charges or issue any cease and desist orders.”
As far as Sieswerda knows, this type of infraction, one of the largest seizures in Thunder Bay District Health Unit history, is a rarity. But, he added, the health unit doesn’t regularly inspect delivery trucks to see if they are refrigerated or not.
“We actually don’t know how prevalent this is,” he said.
The restaurant remains open.
