Yesterday we reported how Nova Scotia mum Tanessa Holt had been forced to shut down her small business after a food inspector told her she couldn’t breastfeed while working at her stall.
Not surprisingly, the story went viral, and since hitting the news headlines, we are pleased to report that Ms Holt has received an apology from the province’s department of agriculture.
“I am happy to receive an apology, because I thought it was outrageous to begin with,” the mum-of-one told CTVNews.
Tanessa and her husband own a small business called FoodNoise, through which they sell prepackaged dry foods such as granola and oatmeal at a stall at local farmers’ markets.
However, they were left with no option but to close down their stall after a food inspector told Tanessa that she could not handle food and serve customers after breastfeeding her child.
In an email in which the inspector put the decision down to a fear of ‘contamination from bodily fluids’, they advised the Holts that they would have to have another member of staff on hand to serve customers if Tanessa wanted to breastfeed while working – something which they could not afford.
Speaking after the issue of the apology, Barry MacGregor from the food protection department in Nova Scotia, put the incident down to the era of “quick replies”.
“It was an unfortunate misunderstanding, that’s why I felt it necessary to call the operator myself,” he said.
"If in a public market setting, if an individual was actually preparing food for service [not prepackaged], we would advise that the infant not be held during food preparation and service," he added.
Tanessa has said that she is now uncertain about returning to her stall, and is instead thinking of opening up a store.
This goes to show that speaking up about breastfeeding shaming is an important step in combatting the problem.
