The Canadian government on 15 November announced the expansion of FoodNet Canada, a system made up of three food safety surveillance sites that collect detailed information about food-borne illnesses in Canadians and traces it back to their sources, including food, water and animals. FoodNet Canada is currently active in the Waterloo (Ontario) and Fraser (British Columbia) regions and in January 2014 will be expanding to a third site in Calgary and Central Alberta. Canadian authorities indicate that the addition of this site will generate results that take into account a greater portion of the Canadian population, improving domestic food safety surveillance.

FoodNet Canada sites may, among other duties, take samples from fresh packaged produce, ground beef and chicken breasts from grocery stores; manure from farms; and water from fresh-water beaches and surface water that supplies municipal drinking water. These samples are tested for microorganisms and any that are found are compared to the microorganisms that cause disease in humans. This process generates information regarding the sources that are causing the most illnesses among Canadians and helps authorities track illnesses and their causes over time. It also provides evidence to federal and provincial governments, industry and other food safety partners on the effectiveness of the food safety system and gives them practical information to help improve their food safety efforts and take targeted measures to prevent outbreaks and food-borne illnesses in Canadian families.