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Trump administration aims to make faster meat processing permanent

Agency plans rulemaking to formalize speed increases

Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago/Washington | Reuters – The Trump administration said on Mar. 17 that it plans to permanently allow U.S. poultry and pork processing plants to operate more quickly, raising concerns among advocacy groups about worker health and food safety. The U.S. Department of Agriculture decision is a victory for meat companies and industry associations such as the National Chicken […] Read more

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Feds lift ‘pause’ on increases in crop chemical MRLs

New set of rules also calls for 'cosmetic' pesticide use to be banned on federal lands

Reading Time: 6 minutes Proposals to increase a crop chemical’s maximum residue limits (MRLs) on foods and food crops in Canada can again seek federal approval, after being put on temporary hold two years ago. Among several other changes, a planned new package of federal regulatory amendments will put a gradual end to a “pause” imposed in August 2021 […] Read more


File photo of a provincial border marker in Lloydminster. (Michele Gervais/iStock/Getty Images)

Borderline city hosts interprovincial food trade pilot

Trade barrier on pause for two years for food businesses serving Lloydminster

Reading Time: 3 minutes The idea of loosening interprovincial trade in certain foods made by provincially-inspected processors will get a major test in one of Canada’s very few province-crossing municipalities. The Saskatchewan, Alberta and federal governments on Jan. 19 announced the start of a two-year pilot project within the limits of Lloydminster, a city of over 31,000 people straddling […] Read more

Manitoba’s Liquor, Gaming and Cannabis Authority (LGCA) ran billboards such as this one in Winnipeg in 2019 to educate the public ahead of edibles’ entry to the recreational market. (Dave Bedard photo)

U.S. FDA reported weighing CBD regulation in food, supplements

Reading Time: < 1 minute Reuters — The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is planning to make recommendations on how to regulate the use of popular cannabis compound CBD in food and supplements, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday, citing agency officials. After weighing the evidence on the compound’s safety, the FDA will decide within months how to […] Read more


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Hepatitis A outbreak linked to organic strawberries

Cases reported in two provinces, three states

Reading Time: < 1 minute Washington | Reuters –– Food safety regulators in both Canada and the U.S. are investigating a hepatitis A outbreak potentially linked to tainted organic strawberries that has sickened 17 people in the U.S. and 10 in Canada, the agencies said. Fifteen illnesses were reported in California, and one each in Minnesota and North Dakota, the […] Read more

(File photo)

U.S. rolls back inspection rules for egg products

New rule to affect 83 U.S. facilities

Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — The Trump administration said Wednesday it will stop requiring U.S. plants that produce egg products to have full-time government inspectors, in the first update of inspection methods in 50 years. Under a new rule that takes effect immediately, the U.S. Department of Agriculture will allow companies such as Cargill and Sonstegard […] Read more


A customer shops at a pork meat hall at the Yuegezhuang wholesale market in Beijing on June 17, 2020. (Photo: Reuters/Tingshu Wang)

Food exporters to China asked to declare produce coronavirus-free

Declaration puts onus on exporters for product safety

Reading Time: 2 minutes Beijing | Reuters — China’s customs authority has asked food exporters to the country to sign a declaration their produce is not contaminated by the novel coronavirus, three people who received a letter said on Friday. The declaration, seen by Reuters, may be an effort by China to reduce the additional testing it has carried […] Read more

(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

Ontario offers cash for abattoir upgrades

Applications now being accepted through April

Reading Time: 2 minutes Ontario’s 123 provincially-licensed abattoirs can now start applying for a piece of $2 million in federal/provincial funding to step up food safety, biosecurity and animal welfare measures. The Ontario and federal governments on Wednesday announced applications for cost-share funding can be submitted between now and April 30, “as long as funding for the initiative is […] Read more


EU flags in front of the headquarters of the European Commission in Brussels. (Jorisvo/iStock/Getty Images)

EU-Canada trade deal clears hurdle in Dutch parliament

Reading Time: < 1 minute Amsterdam | Reuters — The European Union’s free trade agreement with Canada cleared a political hurdle on Tuesday, when a slim majority of lawmakers in the Dutch lower house voted to ratify the contested deal. Votes by members of the country’s governing coalition were enough to approve the deal, which was rejected by opposition parties […] Read more

Hogs on a stock trailer bound for a Toronto packing plant accept drinks from Toronto Pig Save members in 2013. (Screengrab of Toronto Pig Save video via YouTube)

Ontario draws new legal lines against on-farm trespass

Reading Time: 2 minutes Ontario has introduced a legislative package setting up new legal boundaries around livestock in that province, whether on farms or in transit. The Security From Trespass and Protecting Food Safety Act, introduced Monday by Agriculture Minister Ernie Hardeman, is expected to “address the unique risks and challenges associated with trespass onto a farm or into […] Read more