(Regis Lefebure photo courtesy ARS/USDA)

Canadian pork shipment flagged in China for ractopamine

Reading Time: 2 minutes Winnipeg | Reuters — A Canadian shipment of pig feet to China, produced by meat packer Olymel, has tested positive for residues of banned growth drug ractopamine and may curb future trade, Canadian government and industry officials say. China views the tainted shipment as a “systemic failure” of Canada’s program that certifies pork sent to China […] Read more


(Screengrab from RobinHood.ca)

Flour recall widened to products from 11 loads of wheat

Reading Time: 2 minutes The maker of Robin Hood and other brands of flour is further widening a major product recall to cover products made from 11 loads of Canadian wheat. Ardent Mills and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) on Saturday announced an expanded nationwide recall to include more varieties and sizes of Robin Hood, Golden Temple, Purity, […] Read more

Photo: Thinkstock

OPR threatened, organic industry officials say

Reading Time: 2 minutes The organic industry is mounting a protest against pending changes for its Organic Products Regulation (OPR) that it says has potential to “undo the entire Canadian organic supply chain.” In 2012, the passage of the Safe Foods for Canadians Act resulted in a number of regulations, including the OPR, being combined into a single document […] Read more


(Screengrab from RobinHood.ca)

Flour recalls widen in E. coli probe

Reading Time: 2 minutes Federal public health officials and flour miller Ardent Mills are warning Canadians to follow “safe flour handling practices” as an E. coli-related flour recall widens from one specific batch of Robin Hood flour to include several other Ardent-made products. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency on Sunday updated its food recall warnings to include several lots […] Read more

(Screengrab from RobinHood.ca)

Robin Hood flour pulled in E. coli probe

Reading Time: 2 minutes Federal health officials investigating over two dozen cases of E. coli poisoning across Canada are warning consumers to get rid of a certain batch of Robin Hood flour. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) on Tuesday issued a food recall warning for Robin Hood All-Purpose Flour, Original, distributed in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba. […] Read more


Federal Finance Minister Bill Morneau in the House of Commons March 22. (Budget.gc.ca via YouTube)

Agrifood a pillar in federal budget’s ‘innovation’ plan

Reading Time: 4 minutes The federal government’s latest budget puts up Canada’s agrifood sector as one of six “key areas” to benefit from a new national “Innovation and Skills Plan.” Federal Finance Minister Bill Morneau on Wednesday unveiled a budget projecting $330.2 billion in expenses in 2017-18 against budgetary revenues of $304.7 billion, for a $28.5 billion deficit. The […] Read more

(Canada Beef Inc. photo)

Brazil ag ministry, police say meat problems not widespread

Reading Time: 2 minutes Lapa, Brazil | Reuters — Brazil’s federal police and agriculture ministry said late Tuesday that sanitary and corruption problems found in the nation’s meatpacking industry were isolated incidents, an attempt to tamp down a scandal that has led the Latin American nation’s biggest export markets to ban its meats. Since police launched raids on processing […] Read more


In this photo of a wilt-affected plant’s stem at harvest, black microsclerotia can be seen just below the surface layer. (Gov.mb.ca/agriculture)

No point in quarantine for verticillium wilt, CFIA says

Reading Time: 3 minutes Slapping federal quarantines on canola fields with verticillium wilt wouldn’t serve much purpose, since the yield-robbing fungi is already in all of Canada’s major canola-growing areas, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency says. While the agency itself is recommending against regulation, CFIA on Wednesday posted a draft of a risk management document on verticillium wilt, seeking […] Read more

(Stephen Ausmus photo courtesy ARS/USDA)

Canada blocks poultry, eggs from Tennessee, Alabama

Reading Time: 2 minutes Cross-border travellers coming into Canada from the U.S. are being warned not to bring in raw poultry or eggs from Tennessee or Alabama following outbreaks of avian flu in those states. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency on Thursday announced restrictions on imports of uncooked poultry products, live birds and/or eggs from those two states until […] Read more