Canada, followed by Ireland and France, are the top three countries for overall food safety performance of Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries, according to a new report produced by the Conference Board of Canada's Centre for Food in Canada in collaboration with the University of Guelph's Food Institute.

“Canada's excellent grades in most food safety performance metrics were due to its consistently low number of food-borne illness cases and reported recalls, Canada’s new policy on allergen labeling and a greater focus on transparency,” said Jean-Charles Le Vallée, senior research associate and lead author of the 2014 World Ranking Food Safety Performance report.

Using 10 performance indicators, the report identified and evaluated common elements among global food safety systems and provided an overall ranking of food safety performance for 17 OECD countries.

The Conference Board of Canada will host a webinar to discuss the report on Nov. 21, 2014.