Human remains may have been in pig farm meat
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Health officer: Human remains may have been in pig farm meat
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
VANCOUVER, British Columbia -- Human remains may have been in meat processed for human consumption at a pig farm that has been the site of an extensive investigation into Canada's worst serial killing case, British Columbia's provincial health officer says.
"What I know from the RCMP is we can't rule out the possibility of cross-contamination," Dr. Perry Kendall said in an interview with The Canadian Press on Wednesday.
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 said.
Kendall has asked anyone who may still have frozen pork products from Pickton's farm to return those products to police.
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 eastside. In all, 31 women have been confirmed dead in the case.
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 investigation into whether meat from the Pickton pig farm was contaminated began last Friday.
Cpl. Cate Galliford, spokeswoman for the RCMP and Vancouver Police joint task force into the missing women case, said police contacted the B.C. Center for Disease Control after discovering that "the circle of people who may have received meat was somewhat larger than we originally anticipated."
Dr. David Patrick, director of Communicable Disease Epidemiology, said officials at his facility were asked if they would be able to "do some testing for some human pathogens in some product."
Patrick would not elaborate, although he said the center's HIV group was called in February and was asked hypothetical questions about risks of whether HIV could be transmitted in contaminated meat.
"But there was no indication that it was a real concern," Patrick said. "And we get asked at this place hypothetical concerns left, right and center."
On Monday, the RCMP asked Health Canada to conduct a public-health risk assessment.
The assessment concluded there is a low risk of anyone contracting hepatitis B and an even lower risk of contracting hepatitis C or HIV. The risk is even lower if the meat was cooked properly, a statement from Health Canada said.
Pickton apparently had a habit of slaughtering pigs, wrapping up the meat and distributing it to associates and friends, Kendall said, calling the unlicensed slaughter facility very unsanitary.
"We have reason to believe that there is a strong possibility that some of the product from the Pickton farms - and how much the RCMP do not know - may still be sitting in some people's freezer in the Lower Mainland," Kendall said.
It was unclear Wednesday how many people might have received meat, but friends of Pickton's said earlier they had received gifts of freshly slaightered pig. One woman said last year that Pickton often gave her such gifts, which she took to an eastside supermarket to be cut and packaged.
The Vancouver Province has reported that hundreds of people visited the farm for weekend pig roasts and cockfights over the past five to 10 years.
Some of those people visited the farm and left with meat, the newspaper reported.
Kendall and police acknowledged the pain the meat alert could have to the families of the missing women.
"I am very sensitive to the issues and very sensitive to the concern it will raise in people's mind," he said, "but I felt from an ethical and health standpoint ... we had to communicate this issue."
Marilyn Kraft, whose daughter Cynthia Feliks is among the missing, was angry that police made the news public Wednesday.
"It's sickening," she said from Calgary. "Why have they waited so long? They knew last year some of that could be contaminated. All they're going to do is create panic. It's too damned late to do something."
The investigation into the missing women case was ignited by a police raid of a 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.
Pickton is not expected to go to trial until late this year or early in 2005
