Canadian Government May Loosen ‘Product of Canada’ Rules

(FoodNavigator-USA.com – Caroline Scott-Thomas)

The Canadian government may loosen the labeling rules for food products to qualify as ‘Products of Canada’, to allow for ingredients that are difficult to source in Canada. Minister of State for Agriculture Jean-Pierre Blackburn said on Monday that the government was committed to concluding consultations with industry and consumers about the labeling of Canadian processed foods.

The present rule, put in place by Prime Minister Stephen Harper in 2008, only allows foods that contain at least 98% Canadian-produced ingredients to be labeled ‘Product of Canada’. The law was meant to close a loophole that allowed any product to be labeled ‘Product of Canada’ as long as at least 51% of the production cost was met in Canada. This meant that some, or indeed all, of the ingredients could be produced elsewhere.

But many food manufacturers have argued that the new rule unfairly limits the number of products that can claim to be Canadian. Read more here.