Food Origins: How Canadian Is Your Food?

Posted by Jess

Buying Canadian food is a good thing, I think we all inherently know this to be true. It's good for our economy, good for our local food producers and good for the environment. But just how 'Canadian' is the food you really buy? You may be surprised to learn that much of the food you buy, even food that has a maple leaf, Canadian flag or a "Made in Canada" label claim may not in fact be very Canadian at all.

However, until this year, this Guide allowed Made in Canada labels to be put on any product manufactured or processed in Canada, regardless of the origin of the ingredients, as long as at least 51% of total direct manufacturing costs occurred in Canada. That is, a Made in Canada product may be made of 100% foreign ingredients, as long as it receives a "last substantial transformation" in Canada. It is enough if the food is changed by processing into some new product that has a name consumers will understand (e.g., "tuna with curry" is "substantially transformed" when you add the curry).

Fortunately, new rules are expected to come into effect for products produced after December 31, 2008. Under the new rules, Made in Canada labels should now show whether the ingredients are imported. Look for labels that say, for example, "Made in Canada from imported ingredients" or "Made in Canada from domestic and imported ingredients".

Other food products that use the word "Canada" on their label may have even less connection with this country. As long as some value is added here, they may be labelled "Processed in Canada", "Refined in Canada", "Brewed in Canada" etc.. Maple leaf marks should not appear on imported products, but there is no quantitative limit as to how much of the product must be Canadian for a maple leaf to appear.

The CBC recently aired an interesting segment called "Marketplace: Product of Canada" where they took their cameras into a Great Canadian Superstore in an effort to shed more light on which products were genuinely 'Canadian'. Check it out...

The bottom line is that there is a huge difference between 'Made in Canada' and 'Product of Canada'. If the item is labeled 'Product of Canada', you can be assured that the majority of the product is in fact Canadian. Any other claim, including 'Made in Canada' and there are no such guarantees.

via EnviroLaw.com: Environmental Law Specialist Dianne Saxe and Jackie Campbell

TAGS: Canadian, Domestic, Origin, Products
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