The Public Trust Steering Committee endorses the Canadian Centre for Food Integrity

The Public Trust Steering Committee (PTSC) has endorsed the Canadian Centre for Food Integrity (CCFI) to be the national coordinator of public trust activities in Canada’s food system.

Advancing public trust in Canada’s food system led to the formation of the Public Trust Steering Committee (PTSC) in 2017. The committee was organized to create a strategic direction for public trust and was composed of industry partners across the agri-food industry, working together and with the government.

Similarly, CCFI was established in 2016 to help Canada’s food system earn trust. The research conducted by CCFI shows that a significant portion of Canadians are interested in learning more about their food system and the people behind how their food is grown as food-related topics are relevant and top-of-mind for consumers. The agri-food industry recognizes the importance of providing a more coordinated, values-driven approach when addressing public trust and speaking to consumers about their food.

The announcement comes after funding was received from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada in 2018 for Canada’s food system to develop a strategy and plan to boost consumer confidence in food. During the development of the plan, there was almost unanimous support for a coordinated, synchronized, collective approach to addressing public trust within Canada’s food system. The lack of a coordinated approach was identified as the most limiting factor for advancing public trust and CCFI was viewed as the best entity to deliver on this.

With the transfer of the national coordination duties to CCFI, the services of the PTSC are as such that the committee will no longer exist.