Editorial: Labels and legalities

Editorial: Labels and legalities

It’s often said that a rose by any other name would smell as sweet. But does the same apply to honey cut with high-fructose corn syrup? If would seem so, according to the front-page story of our Farmit Manitoba section, where Alexis Stockford digs into the sticky issue of honey adulteration. The problem for regulators

Adulterated honey imports to North America disadvantage local honey producers.

Smoking out Canadian honey fraud

The CFIA found less adulterated honey in 2019-20, although beekeepers say those numbers only encompass a part of their market reality

[UPDATED: Dec. 21, 2020] The newest numbers are in on Canadian honey fraud, although beekeepers say they don’t fully capture the reality of the sector. The most recent bout of official testing did see less honey fraud compared to similar surveillance the year before, according to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA). In a report


Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau and Parliamentary Ag Secretary Jean-Claude Poissant, at right, visited the Carrefour Alimentaire Centre-Sud in Montreal on June 17, 2019 to formally launch the federal Food Policy for Canada. (Photo courtesy Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada)

Federal food policy aims to lift local and Canadian-grown products

Federal programs to boost the profile of domestic and locally grown foods at home while reducing food waste, food insecurity and deceptive food marketing are all up for funding under the government’s new Food Policy for Canada. Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau and Parliamentary Ag Secretary Jean-Claude Poissant announced the new policy Monday in Montreal, following

Brazil and the mother of all food fraud cases

As one of Brazil’s main livestock industry competitors Canada will likely gain from this scandal

Brazil, the largest exporter of meat products in the world, faces a food fraud crisis — and it seems federal authorities have been complicit. There’s a lesson here for Canada. Brazilian authorities recently announced they would investigate several companies, including meat-packing giants JBS SA and BRF SA. The companies are accused of bribing licensed inspectors


knife cutting into a steak

Canadians love meat, but don’t take them for granted

Demand should stay strong despite higher prices, but cases of meat fraud 
could undermine consumer confidence

What do Confucius, Albert Einstein and Leonardo Di Vinci have in common? Well, not much professionally, but they were all vegetarians. Einstein once claimed that, “Nothing will benefit human health and increase chances for survival of life on Earth as much as the evolution to a vegetarian diet.” With recent record meat prices, some might