Tories to Loosen Food-Labelling Rules

(Canwest News Service)

The Conservative government is set to water down its “Product of Canada” food-labelling rule after tightening it up just a year ago.

The standard, which came into effect in 2009, requires 98 per cent of ingredients in “Product of Canada” items to be Canadian. But not long after Prime Minister Stephen Harper declared that the move was vital to “better reflect the true origin of products,” the government is laying the groundwork for loosening the threshold.

Following complaints from many food processors and local farmers, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency is holding consultations that likely will result in exemptions to allow products made with some imported ingredients or produce to be marketed as a “Product of Canada” or labelled “Made in Canada.”

The exemptions, touted recently by Minister of State for Agriculture Jean-Pierre Blackburn, will focus on ingredients that are not readily available from Canadian sources, such as sugar and vinegar.

This means products such as a box of cookies made from imported sugar and Canadian flour, milk, eggs and butter could still be marketed as a product of Canada. Read more here.