McCain said that Ottawa needs to better define industry's role when it comes to food safety.

He says regulations should be applied evenly across the board and companies that fall short of their obligations should face tough accountability.

And he says if that means the Canadian Food Inspection Agency needs to hire more inspectors to watch over industry, so be it.

Twenty-one Canadians died after eating Maple Leaf deli meats contaminated with listeria.

McCain, who was to appear before a special parliamentary subcommittee on food safety, called the food-borne disease outbreak one of the worst in Canadian history.