China’s Green Food Development Centre, which certifies foods for sustainable, “green” farming practices, has approved its “Green Food” label for Chinese beer made with Canadian malting barley.
The Canadian Wheat Board has been granted “Green Food” accreditation for shipments of up to 600,000 tonnes per year of Prairie malting barley, the board announced Thursday. That’s triple the amount from any other exporter, the CWB said in a release.
“The Green Food label assures consumers that a food product is produced according to safe agricultural practices, in an environmentally sustainable way, free from air and soil pollutants,” said Haiguang Shi, general manager of the CWB’s Beijing office, in the release.
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CWB CEO Greg Arason said the accreditation will give Prairie barley growers a competitive edge in what’s become the world’s biggest and fastest-growing beer market.
China, according to the CWB, recently passed the U.S. as the world’s top beer-making nation, with production up 15 per cent from 2005 and 300 per cent from 1991, to 35 billion litres in 2006.
The certification also recognizes “our system of sourcing and delivery — from grower to customer — through the CWB,” Arason said.
