New rules for Canadian food labels

by Barry Artiste | May 21, 2008 at 03:25 pm | 29 views | add comment | 0 recommendations

Opinion
Barry Artiste, Now Public Contributor

All I can say it is about time, after two decades of Canadian consumer thinking the foods and produce they consumer were from Canada, soon found out they were mostly from China and other Nations with spotting health and food sanitary requirements. We all remember last year when it came to media attention all over North America, that those oranges we thought were drom Sunny Florida or seafood products were from our shores, were actually from China, in which the World Health Organization issued a world wide ban on Chinese produced foods found to contain cancer causing chemical and chinese waters contaminated with malachite green a deadly cancer causing chemical which was found in North American processed Seafood.
I have provided a link on my past story on this where I name foods North Americans historically thought were North American Made. But in name and label only.

VINELAND, Ont. -- Processed foods sold in Canadian supermarkets will now be subjected to stricter labelling regulations, Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced Wednesday.

The new labels will affect two categories of products, those that are labelled as a: "Product of Canada" and: "Made in Canada."

This is the first change to the food labels since the 1980s.

It affects all processed foods sold in the country including juice, chocolate bars and ice-cream.

Under the new regulations, foods labelled as a Canadian product must contain "all or virtually all contents" that are from Canada, Mr. Harper said in the announcement.

Products that are labelled "Made in Canada" will now mean the majority of ingredients were processed in the country. "We want to tighten up the definition so Canadians know what they're getting and get exactly what they want," Mr. Harper said.

There will also be a new label that will say: "Made in Canada with imported ingredients," he added, to include foods that are made in the country but do not necessarily only contain Canadian ingredients.

Under current food labelling rules, food products can be labelled as "Product of Canada" if 51% of the product is produced in the country.

"That is not what consumers think [when they read that label]," he said. "It's not good enough for Canada."

No details were announced on when the new labelling regulations will come into effect.