Opinions
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Foodlaw: What does “organic” really mean?
The word “organic” has proved to be one of the most powerful words in today’s supermarket. But what, people always ask me, does it mean? For many, it means food coming from an idyllic little local family farm where no…
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Regulatory Affairs: Where has all the “light” gone?
Once in the limelight, “light” claims on food labels shine no more. Why, in the good old days there was a “light” on everything – light in fat, light in calories, light in carbohydrates, and so on. It was a…
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Foodlaw – Chemical Paranoia
On March 5, 2009, the front page of the Globe and Mail screamed the scary headline: “Tests find Bisphenol A in majority of soft drinks.” The story began in loaded and unqualified language: “The estrogen-mimicking chemical BPA, already banished from…
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Where has all the “light” gone?
Once in the limelight, “light” claims on food labels shine no more. Why, in the good old days there was a “light” on everything – light in fat, light in calories, light in carbohydrates, and so on. It was a…
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Chemincal Paranoia
On March 5, 2009, the front page of the Globe and Mail screamed the scary headline: “Tests find Bisphenol A in majority of soft drinks.” The story began in loaded and unqualified language: “The estrogen-mimicking chemical BPA, already banished from…
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Listeria Regulations for RTE Meat Products
The updated Listeria Monocytogenes (LM) regulations (ULRs) for ready-to-eat (RTE) meat products are a huge step in the right direction toward controlling this pathogen. To really appreciate the magnitude of the changes, it’s necessary to review the old regulations issued…
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Celebrating Canadian Agriculture and Food Innovation
Anita Stewart’s Canada: The Food/The Recipes/The Stories, is the latest book from the Wonder Woman of Canadian cuisine. While it contains a generous selection of uniquely Canadian recipes, this is much more than a cookbook. It is packed with dozens…
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Mother “Natural” versus Canada
If the foods in Mother Nature’s garden are “natural,” would not organic foods be “natural” as well? In Canada the answer is “not necessarily so.” What then makes a food “natural?” A search of Canadian food laws finds legislation in…
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Focus on Food Safety – October 2008
The CFIA issued a bulletin on Sept. 5 to manufacturers of ready-to-eat (RTE) meat products recommending additional sanitation measures to clean slicing equipment to address Listeria monocytogenes (LM) risks. I’d like to build on these recommendations with a number of…
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Focus on Food Safety
HACCP Programs were introduced to Canadian food processors in 1990 and then mandated by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) to the entire industry in 2005. In April 2008 the CFIA introduced its Compliance Verification System (CVS) to better define…
