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Human remains may have been in meat processed at BC pig farm
VANCOUVER, British Columbia - Human remains may have been in meat processed for human consumption at a pig farm that has been the focus of Canada's worst serial killing case, British Columbia's provincial health officer said.
"What I know from the RCMP (Royal Canadian Mounted Police) is we can't rule out the possibility of cross-contamination," Dr. Perry Kendall said Wednesday in an interview with The Canadian Press.
When asked if cross-contamination meant human remains found their way into meat processed at the farm, Kendall said: "It's very disturbing to think about, but (there is) the possibility of some cross-contamination. But the degree of it or when or how much we really don't know."
"I think if we could rule it out, we definitely would like to," he added.
Royal Canadian Mounted Police investigators have found the remains of 22 women at the suburban farm owned by Robert William Pickton, 54, who has been charged with 15 counts of first-degree murder in the disappearances of women over the past 20 years. Police said earlier this year they expected additional charges against Pickton.
Many of the victims vanished from Vancouver's drug-infested downtown east side. In all, 31 women have been confirmed dead in the case.
Kendall has asked anyone who may still have frozen pork products from Pickton's farm to return those products to police.
A news release issued by British Columbia's Health Ministry said RCMP investigators have evidence that some products were handed out by Pickton to friends and acquaintances in the area prior to his arrest in February 2002.
"The alert is focused on these individuals," the statement said.
Lynn Frey, who was told earlier this year that her daughter Marnie's DNA had been found at the farm, was appalled.
"It's disgusting," she said. "It's absolutely insane. How many people have eaten something from that farm? Even if you did get a pig from that farm seven years ago, you think it's going to still be in your freezer?"
Frey said all that police say they've found of her daughter is DNA. "Where the heck's the rest of her body?"
She also questioned why there hasn't been a thorough Canadian Food Inspection Agency investigation of the case.
Marc Richard, a spokesman for the agency, was caught off guard by questions about the possible contamination. He said he was told an announcement was planned for release Thursday.
He said he would not comment on the case, because it is part of a criminal investigation.
The news release said the RCMP approached the British Columbia Center for Disease Control to inquire about potential health risks for people who may have eaten pork processed or slaughtered at the farm, given the conditions they discovered at the site.
A formal investigation by Kendall, the center and officials at Health Canada and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency was launched last Friday.
Provincial CDC officials said the risk to human health for those who ate the products is "extremely remote" because pork must always be well- cooked, a process that destroys most infectious agents.
However, Kendall said under the circumstances, he has an obligation to the public under the Health Act to ensure those products are not consumed.
The investigation into the case was ignited by a police raid on the farm owned by Pickton and his brother and sister in Port Coquitlam, east of Vancouver, on Feb. 6, 2002. Police wrapped up the bulk of their investigation at the site last November.
Kendall said he was asked by Health Canada to do a "worst-case assessment" and to look into the health risk from consumption from the farm's slaughterhouse.
"There's a very low risk of any human disease being transmitted in that fashion," Kendall said.
Pickton is not expected to go to trial until late this year or early in 2005.
http://www.billingsgazette.com/index.php?id=1&display=rednews/2004/03/10/build/world/36-pigfarmmeat.inc!