What do honey, olive oil, and organic food have in common? They’re high on the list of food fraud cases in Canada. Food fraud, defined as mislabeling and misrepresentation of food products to deceive consumers or create unfair competition, may cost the global food industry between $10 and $15 billion per year, affecting about 10%… Read More
Often prescribed for curing thrush and other fungal infections of humans and a common ingredient in foot and hoof treatments for livestock, Health Canada has come out and said gentian violet increases the risk of cancer and is urging everyone — farmers included — to stop using any products that include the ingredient. Following a… Read More
What do Canadians think of our agriculture and agri-food industry as the calendar closes in on a federal election later this year? A new poll published this week by Grassroots Public Affairs offers insight into Canadian public opinion on a range of agricultural issues and policies. Overall, Grassroots principal and senior consultant Peter Seemann says… Read More
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) has announced it will be fining food businesses for violating federal food safety rules. Administrative Monetary Penalties (AMP) can range from a notice of violation with no monetary fine to as serious as up to $15,000 for serious offences or repeat violators. The penalties have been used in the… Read More
Researchers in Ontario are working on establishing safe use guidelines for meloxicam, a pain relief and anti-inflammatory medication, in grain-fed veal production. The product is currently approved for use in dairy and beef cattle, but not for veal as there is no established withdrawal interval. Two University of Guelph professors, Dr. Ron Johnston and Dr. Dave… Read More
In August of last year Art Shaap’s life and livelihood changed in a heart beat. It was then that the owner of Highland Dairy in Clovis, New Mexico, started dumping 15,000 gallons of milk each day because his animals and seven of his 13 wells had been contaminated with runoff from the nearby Cannon Air… Read More
In a recent proof-of-concept field trial, the Canadian Sheep Federation partnered with SheepChain LLC to demonstrate how the Canadian sheep industry can capitalize on blockchain-based traceability to add value to Canadian lamb. Canada is the first sheep industry to manage the technology in a real-world setting, tracking lamb from pasture to plate, according to the… Read More
A four-legged friend is being commended for her perfect sniffing skills at the Ottawa airport. Lacy the detector dog sniffed out undeclared pork products from a traveller who came from a region that is high risk for African Swine Fever (ASF). Veterinary councillor for the Canadian Pork Council, Egan Brockhoff, says the actions taken by… Read More
The Canadian Sheep Federation and the Canadian Cattle Identification Agency (CCIA) recently reached an agreement outlining the roles and responsibilities of each group in delivery of the Canadian Sheep Identification Program (CSIP). As part of the agreement, the per tag fee of $0.23 currently collected to fund the program will increase to $0.59/tag by the… Read More
If you export or import food products across federal or provincial boundaries you’ll need to obtain a Safe Food for Canadians license soon. New regulations governing food exports come into effect as early as January 15, 2019, and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) has opened up the application process for the required license just… Read More
The news Parliamentary secretary Jean-Claude Poissant, on behalf of Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food Lawrence MacAulay, was in Gatineau, Quebec, this week to announce funding for two projects focused on food safety and public trust in Canada’s food system. Announced at the Food Safety Forum, held following the Canadian Centre for Food Integrity’s Public Trust Summit,… Read More
Regulations are often disliked by by both producers and consumers. Producers think there is too much red tape and consumers think regulators are too accommodating to business. But when the regulatory system works – when it trusted and predictable – everyone benefits. The recent Canola Discovery Forum at Banff, Alta., brought together a host of… Read More
The Canadian Centre for Food Integrity rolls out its latest public trust data this week in conjunction with its third annual Public Trust Summit, being held at Gatineau, Quebec. The centre conducted two surveys this past year. One was a continuation of its public trust barometer, and the other a Canada-U.S. study which focused on three… Read More
What do you do when two busloads of students come to your farm? Well, of course you welcome them, show them around, and feed them lunch. On a rainy day during harvest, students from Saskatchewan Polytechnic came out to the farm of Doyle and Val Wiebe near Langham. All of the farm equipment was lined… Read More
One person has died in the U.S. from Escherichia coli O26 contamination linked to ground beef, according to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Seventeen others have also become sick after eating the potentially contaminated beef. More than 132,000 pounds of ground beef from Cargill has been recalled due to the outbreak, as a result of… Read More