Category: Canada
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Canada Proposes Amendments to Meat-Inspection Regulations
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) has proposed amendments to its federal meat inspection rules to better align them with the regulations and policies of major trading partners such as the United States and the European Union. According to CFIA, the plan updates a 1990 rule but does not lower food safety standards. Instead, among other…
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EU Urged to Limit Livestock Transportation
A petition reportedly signed by more than one million citizens has urged the European Union (EU) to impose stricter rules on the transportation of livestock intended for slaughter. Initiated by World Horse Welfare, the petition challenged current EU regulations allowing transportation times to exceed 24 hours and instead requested an eight-hour maximum on all such…
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Health Canada Outlines New Energy Drink Rules
Health Canada recently announced new measures that would reclassify energy drinks as food instead of a natural health product (NHP), thus requiring each can to bear a nutritional facts table. According to an October 6, 2011, press release, the new rules would also direct energy drink manufacturers to (i) limit caffeine content to 180 milligrams…
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Canada Publishes Names of Companies in Violation of Food Safety Regs
Canada has begun publishing the names of companies in violation of the country’s food, animal and plant-supply regulations. Reportedly aimed at improving accountability and transparency, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency’s (CFIA’s) website initiative now publishes such information as the (i) “food imports that have been refused entry into Canada”; (ii) “federally registered food establishments whose licenses…
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Canada, EU Reach Tentative Agreement in Hormone-Treated Beef Dispute
Canada and the European Union (EU) have signed a memorandum of understanding that tentatively settles a long trade dispute over hormone-treated cattle. According to the March 17, 2011, memorandum, European nations will expand market access to Canadian beef while Canada will suspend trade sanctions on $11 million worth of EU imports. Effective since the early…
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Health Canada Strengthens Food Allergen and Gluten Source Labeling
Canada Minister of Health Leona Aglukkaq has announced revisions to food allergen labeling regulations with the aim of reducing the number of food recalls and adverse reactions. The revisions strengthen the requirements by adding gluten sources to the list of allergens that must be disclosed on product labels and specifying in plain terms what food…
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Canadian Firm Seeks Approval for Biotech Apple That Resists Browning
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has reportedly been asked by a Canadian biotechnology company to approve its genetically modified (GM) apple, which resists browning after it is sliced. The British Columbia-based company apparently licensed the non-browning technology from an Australian company that developed it for potatoes. Approval of the GM technology could take several years,…
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Canada Adds BPA to Toxic Chemical List
Environment Canada has published a final order adding bisphenol A (BPA) to Schedule 1 of the Canadian Environmental Protection Act 1999 (CEPA 1999), a move that will make it easier for agencies to regulate the substance. “The Government of Canada has a strong record of taking action on Bisphenol A to protect the environment and…