Funds to fix up Canada’s agricultural research stations and food safety labs and a new program to boost rural broadband coverage are among the nuggets for the farming sector in Tuesday’s federal budget. Overall, the Liberals’ first budget is based on $287.7 billion in revenues for 2016-17, against $291.4 billion in program expenses and $25.7 […] Read more
Budget to boost ag research infrastructure, rural broadband
Canada clears Simplot’s spot-resistant GM potato
Potatoes modified for reduced bruising and black spots, and for lower levels of a chemical linked to health risks in baked spuds or fries, have picked up federal approvals. The plant science arm of U.S. potato giant J.R. Simplot announced Monday its first-generation Innate Gen. 1 potato varieties have passed food and feed safety assessments […] Read more
Federal rules arrive on halal food claims
Any food marketed in Canada as certified halal in its labeling or ads will have to include the name of its halal certifying body, starting next month. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) said Wednesday the two-year grace period it launched in 2014 for halal labelling and advertising requirements will end April 4. Past that […] Read more
Canada presses China on science in canola trade spat
Ottawa | Reuters — Canada is urging the Chinese government to stick to scientific facts in decisions on trade as Beijing plans to toughen its standard on Canadian canola shipments, federal Agriculture Minister Lawrence MacAulay said Thursday. China’s quarantine authority, AQSIQ, notified the Canadian Food Inspection Agency last month that it would allow no more […] Read more
Blackleg, big stocks seen behind China-Canada canola conflict
Reuters — A “scientific disagreement” between Canada and China over the risk of transmitting the blackleg fungus is behind China’s move to raise its standard for Canadian canola imports, an industry official involved in discussions said. But some traders say the real reason for a higher standard that may slow Chinese imports is the country’s […] Read more
China tightens dockage rules on Canadian canola
Reuters — The Canadian government confirmed Wednesday that China has toughened its standard for canola shipments, an action that traders say may discourage sales to the country. China, Canada’s top canola export market, notified Ottawa on Tuesday of the new measures, Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) spokeswoman Tammy Jarbeau said in an email statement. Reuters […] Read more
Canada blocks poultry, eggs from Indiana
Cross-border travellers coming into Canada from the U.S. are now warned against bringing in raw poultry and eggs from Indiana, the site of the country’s latest cases of avian flu. Travellers entering Canada from the U.S. may not bring in uncooked poultry products, live birds and/or eggs from Indiana, North Dakota or Missouri, the Canadian […] Read more
Canada’s no-buy list for poultry, eggs down to two states
Canada is now warning cross-border travellers to the U.S. against bringing in raw poultry and eggs from two states, down from six at the end of 2015. As of Tuesday, according to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, travellers entering Canada from the U.S. may not bring in uncooked poultry products, live birds and/or eggs from […] Read more
CFIA to continue PEDv hog trailer policy until May
Emergency federal protocols that have allowed empty hog trucks coming into Manitoba from the U.S. to be cleaned and disinfected on the Manitoba side of the border will now continue until May. In a producer newsletter Thursday, Manitoba Pork chair George Matheson said the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, which had previously planned to end the […] Read more
Feed was ‘most plausible’ source of BSE in Case 19
Canada’s food safety agency is still tracking down the last herdmates of the country’s 19th domestic case of BSE, but will otherwise assume the Alberta cow most likely caught the disease from traces of proteins in its early feed. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency on Nov. 30 submitted its final report on Case 19 — […] Read more
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