Environmental Public Health & Safety

Environmental Public Health Compliance Auditing and Consulting

X Inc Canada provides specialized consulting and auditing services in the field of Environmental Public Health (EPH) to numerous clients across Canada. We are a team of highly qualified EPH specialists with minimum 25 years of management and consulting experience.

We provide our clients the necessary skills and resources to develop, maintain and improve EPH. Our specialists can assist you with ensuring compliance to the appropriate local, federal and international legislation and standards to avoid infectious disease outbreaks, facility closures by the local authorities, damage to company reputation, etc.

Our EPH specialists will conduct gap analysis and recommend best practices, procedures, continuous improvement planning, and support with targeted training to ensure ongoing compliance.

We will:

  • Conduct baseline audits of food, residential, and recreational facilities. Also included are spas, daycares, playgrounds, and other public access facilities.
  • Reference the findings to the current legislative standards and “best practices”, and then generate a gap analysis.
  • Generate facility specific reports based on the audit findings and include recommendations for corrective actions to achieve compliance where applicable.
  • Perform quarterly, semi-annual and/or annual audits of the facilities to ensure ongoing compliance and achievement of best practices.
  • Provide appropriate food safety courses as required by the local health authorities. We also provide customized courses in housekeeping or any other programs as required.

Additionally, we assist clients with procedures and protocols for:

  • Food safety and food security monitoring programs
  • Incidence response and food recall response management
  • Infectious disease (including food and waterborne) outbreak management
  • Other related issues as appropriate

Other Areas of Coverage

Adult and child care facilities and schools

Our school and social care team works to improve the health and safety of child care facilities, adult long term and assisted living facilities, acute care (hospitals), and other related residential facilities.

Communicable Disease, Foodborne/Waterborne Illness and Outbreak Investigation and Management

Our EPH Professionals have extensive experience in illness and outbreak investigation and management. We have produced procedures, protocols, and awareness/promotional material for local, provincial, national and international distribution.

  • EPH Professionals assist in investigating the source of infection for confirmed and unconfirmed cases of communicable diseases associated with food, and water.
  • Appropriate measures are taken to prevent further cases which may include testing of food, stool, or water samples, exclusion of ill cases from high risk jobs, inspection of facilities, closure of facilities, and outbreak declaration in conjunction with the local health authority.

If contracted, the EPH Professional will be on-call 24/7 in order to help the facility manage any outbreaks identified by the local health authority, as well as collaborate with the local health authority for the necessary investigations and follow ups until the conclusion of the outbreak.

Recreational facilities (gyms, swimming pools, sports arenas, and other public facilities)

Recreational facilities are legislated to ensure reduction in the spread of water illness and prevent related injuries. Our consultants can assist with regular assessments, audits, education upgrading and monitoring. Having all these programs in place will provide the basis for the good recreational water protocol.

Playgrounds

Our playground audits are based on the CAN/CSA Z614 “Children’s Playspaces and Equipment.”

Housing, hotels and other hospitality facilities

Suitable housing conditions are essential for good health. People can become more susceptible to disease when they do not have safe and sanitary housing.

Our EPH Consultants can assist landlords/owners in compliance with the local health authority requirements by inspecting rental houses, apartments, hotels, and other types of accommodations to determine whether these places are safe.

Personal services (barbering/hairstyling, aesthetics, piercing, and tattooing)

These include barbering and hairstyling, aesthetics, ear piercing, body piercing, and tattooing. Proper techniques and well-maintained equipment are needed to ensure public safety. Bacterial and fungal infections can spread from one person to another person if equipment is not properly cleaned or sterilized between uses. “Personal services” may be exposed to infectious agents, serious allergens and other harmful matter like ultra violet radiation.

Our EPH consultants can assist operators of such facilities in complying with several pieces of legislation.

Drinking Water

Raw water supplies can be contaminated with microorganisms or chemical contaminants. Harmful bacteria such as Escherichia coli O157:H7 have caused severe illnesses and deaths. Chemical contaminants such as lead can cause brain damage and accumulate in body tissues.

Our EPH Professionals assist owners/operators in reducing the occurrence of illness related to the use of domestic water supplies. This is accomplished by monitoring the physical, chemical and bacteriological quality of drinking water supplies to ensure that they meet established health and safety guidelines.

Plan Checking

Our experts can help examine new business plans before they are submitted to the local health authority to ensure that the plans meet all applicable regulation requirements for approval. Specifically, plans for health approval must be submitted if you are planning to build or remodel any of the following:

  • Food facilities
  • Swimming pool / whirlpool
  • Child and Adult care facilities
  • Personal service facilities (hair salon, aesthetic services, tattoo, body piercing, etc).

Emergency Response

Catastrophic events such as floods or industrial accidents can cause immediate and severe harm, as well as long-term health effects. The actions taken following an emergency can greatly reduce the impact of the event. Our EPH Professionals provide health-related information to first responders, hospitals, physicians, and the public during disasters and emergencies such as:

  • Advising on the proper set up of emergency centres with respect to food, shelter, and other basic necessities for survivors and evacuees
  • Advising on staff protection
  • Advising on requirements for and the process of decontamination
  • Advising on immediate and long-term health effects

Advising on exposures or potential exposures to hazardous materials, industrial fires, inhaled toxins, and contaminated food/water

Our Expertise

X Inc is the only independent, privately-owned company in Canada that provides a complete portfolio of Environmental Public Health consulting and auditing services.

We assist in implementing global best practices and ensuring compliance to local, federal and international regulations.

We currently conduct third-party audits of contractors who provide multi-faceted services to Adult Care Facilities, Educational Institutions, Oil & Gas Work Camps, and Restaurant Franchises serving hundreds of people daily.

Contact us and we will provide a no-obligation proposal for your organization.

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