Canadian food officials were made aware of serious problems in the inspection system that could threaten public safety three years before an outbreak of the food-borne illness listeriosis that has been linked to 18 deaths, according to an internal report by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency. - The 2005 report, titled the Food Emergency Response Review, documented problems with some of the CFIA's food inspection procedures, delays in issuing public warnings about potentially dangerous food products, and a lack of followup after problems were identified. - "The safety of food in Canada is somewhat unpredictable," Rick Holley, professor of food microbiology and food safety in the department of food science at the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg, said after reading the report. "There should be a reasonable level of confidence that the food that we eat is not going to make us sick." - The inspection agency's review was conducted from January...