Earlier this month, Kimberly Ford, otherwise known as the 'Souper Lady', was told by health inspectors that she needed to suspend her charitable efforts until she met certain food safety regulations.

Alberta Health Services have clarified their reasons for suspending Ford's operations.

Dr. Jason Cabaj, Medical Officer of Health for Alberta Health Service's Calgary Zone, said they don't want to stop people from helping their community, as long as there is no risk of food borne illnesses. 

"We certainly don't want to discourage people that are really working towards addressing food security. There's always a balance in our perspective. Both are public health issue, and we wanted to make sure that this individual is able to continue providing a valuable service, but doing that in a way that's most safe."

Cabaj explained that when food is being distributed outside of a private situation, whether or not it is being sold, it does fall under certain health safety regulations. Those regulations are in place to prevent outbreaks of food borne illnesses. When asked about the difference between Ford's charitable efforts and other instances such as potlucks or bake sales, Dr. Cabaj gave the following explanation.

"If people are participating in a potluck and they're understanding the process with which the food was prepared and it's a relatively closed group, that's considered under the regulation to be a different type of circumstance to where food is being distributed to a range of individuals."

In Ford's case, the scale and ongoing nature of the operation meant that she needed to comply with food regulations.

Dr. Cabaj also said that the type of food was another factor that health inspectors took into consideration. Since Ford was preparing lunches, there was a higher risk of food borne illness. Dr. Cabaj explained that food such as meat and meat products, foods with many ingredients that require more handling and foods that need to be refrigerated pose a greater risk of food borne illness than lemonade sold from a lemonade stand, for example.

Another factor was the fact that Ford was preparing meals from her home in the presence of children. Dr. Cabaj said a separate kitchen would be necessary, as children and animals can spread pathogens that contaminate food.

At the end of the day, Dr. Cabaj said it's great if someone wants to prepare food and give it to the less fortunate, as long as they are following the rules and ensuring there is no risk of people getting sick.

"The regulations we have in place, Alberta Health Services can play a role in making sure we do balance between looking at food safety and food security and really protecting people from any food borne illness."

For Ford's part, she said she understands why the health inspector suspended her charitable efforts, and is hard at work trying to meet regulations so she can get back to helping her community.

 

Read More:

'Souper' Lady Temporarily Forced to Hang Up Her Apron

 

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