Stratford Radio Talks to MUIRHEAD

As the right wing business rhetoric about supply management continues, Prof. Bruce Muirhead is interviewed about the system and as always provides clarity.  This is worth listening to.-cg

Supply Management and Canada-EU Free Trade - 

from CJCS Stratford 1240 radio

As the Harper Government negotiates a free trade agreement with the European Union, Canadian farmers are waiting to see what the talks produce.

Supply management which governs dairy, poultry and egg farming in Canada has been under fire from foreign agriculture interests and certain media commentators.

They want it dismantled as part of a free trade agreement.

The quota system limits the ability of non-Canadian farmers to dump their products into our market.

Bruce Muirhead is a professor of history at the University of Waterloo with a focus on trade agreements.

He says supply management makes sense and the criticisms of it are confusing.  For more recorded details from the show :see  CJCS 1240 Radio

100 Good Reasons

I have decided I should post some of the 100 Good Reasons to look for the 100% Canadian Milk Symbol. They need to be even more visible to the public.  Share these if you can.-CG

Canadian dairy farmers follow strict regulations on the use of antibiotics

 

Canadian Dairy farmers work closely with veterinarians to ensure their cattle stay healthy. 

Unfortunately, just like humans, cows sometimes get sick, and when they do, they may  need  medications such as antibiotics.

When a cow needs antibiotics, the dairy farmer has to follow strict protocols. 

While the farmer continues to milk the cow, all of her milk is collected separately and discarded for a mandatory withdrawal period until her system is clear.

On the rare occasion that a load of milk does not meet the regulatory requirements
 when it arrives  at the processing plant, the entire load is rejected and disposed of. 

Since milk samples are collected at each farm, a farmer who supplies substandard milk
 is easily identified and held accountable.

Penalties for supplying milk containing contaminants such as antibiotic residues are severe, 
so dairy farmers take great care in making sure their milk is in its purest form.

For more good reasons to share : www.100goodreasons.ca

The Canadian Press ... nasty stuff

If you google "supply management" today, hundreds of article pop up.

Most of them would be grounds for legal action if supply management was a company.

As the media continues its relentless onslaught against the system of supply management, one has to wonder exactly who they are satisfying and why.

I thought I lived in a democracy with a free press. They are free all right, free to embellish, lie and ignore.

Why is it that not one reporter has sought to find out what the system really means to farmers? No one even seems prepared to tell their side of the story in spite of mountains of comments full of information that should make people pause.

The issues about the safety and security of our food supply (remember the China syndrome?) and the need for safe secure local food supply seem to have gone missing too.

If we cannot depend on our press and media to give us some reality and truth where can we find it? - cg

Internet trolling-Guess What??

I have had no time lately for poor old dairiblawg. To be fair though, there were a lot of really wild and unexpected things happening out there at the same time. The McCain's food fiasco, a possible 'coalition' government, economic collapse, the presidential elections .......

So today, I thought I'd troll around on the Internet. Sometimes really good stuff shows up and sometimes not.

Today I hit a bit of pay dirt. Terence Corcoran: The dairy farmers' annual price heist was not unexpected and I'm sure the dairy farmers and their organizations have seem this article, however, I was surprised to see all the anti articles listed so nicely on the Financial Post pages.

I went trolling some more and came up with: Keeping Canada's food safe from the Guelph Mercury and the thought provoking : How Safe is Our Food Supply? by P.J. Wade.

And if anyone from the food or farming sectors think Canadians or the Media have forgotten about the listeria outbreak, check out: What's next for food supply after deadly outbreak? from CTV.

And to round out your reading pleasure : The End of Food from the CBC.

Just goes to show you that vigilance is required to stay on top of the many, many issues that can have a detrimental impact on us, our food systems and our country. Have a great day!- cg

National Food Policy

Liberals launch consultations on food safety

OTTAWA - The Liberal opposition announced today the beginning of a nation-wide consultative process to establish a comprehensive national food policy designed to protect the health of Canadians, Liberal Health Critic Carolyn Bennett and Liberal Agriculture Critic Wayne Easter said today.

“As we search for solutions to shore up our economic health, we must remember that health and social safety nets are essential ingredients to boosting the economy,” said Dr. Bennett. “Stephen Harper may have locked the doors on Parliament but the Liberal Party is continuing to work for Canadians.”

“Canadians are expecting us to work together to deliver a stimulus package that boosts the economy, creates jobs, and improves our social safety net. A comprehensive food policy for Canada is one way that we can improve our economic and social health,” added Mr. Easter.

In addition to Dr. Bennett and Mr. Easter, Associate Health Critic Kirsty Duncan and fellow MPs Brian Murphy, Lise Zarac, Anita Neville and Mike Savage will be instrumental in the consultative process.Liberal MPs and past candidates will be traveling the country in January speaking to Canadians and seeking input on various aspects of a comprehensive food policy, including:

the global forces of food security;
ecological threats to food security;
food production/distribution;
food safety and public health; and
food security and poverty.

“If we fail to include health and social issues in a stimulus package, we are destined to come up short in our attempt to help" said Dr. Duncan.

You have to give Mr. Easter credit for continuing to battle for what is best for Farmers and Canadians. It looks like he is getting more support for these ideas. Farmers and consumers need to be part of this process.-CG

Someone IS paying attention....

While researching for more material on the listeria outbreaks in Canada, I ran across an interesting Blog site on the topic. It is called : Marler Blog

In it he has many American articles but he also details outbreaks from Canada, as well. There are other links from the site to many,many other blogs and webs that discuss this issue in detail.

Food processors and producers need to pay attention here, this fellow is a LAWYER. Litigation over due diligence and plant and processing standards, regardless of the size of the processor (here I am thinking of those 'on farm' plants) is rampant. The media isn't talking bout this either.

Go and check it out.

Food Safety Disaster

When I last wrote in Dairiblawg , the article that set me off had been buried deep in the back of newspapers. Changes to CFIA, the 5% cut in budget, etc, etc. Even though in my bones I felt this was the path to disaster, I didn't think we would see it happen so soon.

I have been reading and watching the news stories as the Maple Leaf Foods disaster, just keeps on growing. Worse, they are one of the few large plants left in Ontario to process pigs for farmers.

Again, consumers are probably shocked at how many brands were handled by that single plant. Our illusion of choice has disappeared and consumers are left wondering where to go.

I think they are flocking to farmers markets, and local butcher shops (if you have one) . Ontario better have its food safety guidelines and inspections up to snuff. There are not enough small processors or local suppliers out there to keep us all in fresh food. Things could get darn interesting.

Massive modern, distributions systems for food like we have, are very efficient. They have brought us food for a ridiculously cheap price, nation-wide. But they can also be deadly, spreading disease or food borne illness across massive distances and numbers of people.

This was always the Achilles heel of the food industry. I guess we just have been darn lucky it hasn't happened sooner!!

******

Since I first started this post, Maple Leaf has finally come back on line, Quebec has had its own food safety issue, this time surrounding cheese and China has had several more food safety scandals surrounding illegal additives in baby formula and other products.

These days, when I go into my local butcher shop, I hear questions like, "Who does your processed meat?" Maple Leaf anyone?

I will be detailing more on this issue as it continues to dominate consumer thinking. The larger problem is that the media has not followed through on this topic. It comes and goes as food safety issues hit the headlines. No one has asked why we should accept this level of risk in our food system.

Consumers are quietly doing what they have always done. Finding other places to buy or source their food.

Food Safety Anyone???

Remember the BSE crisis in the dairy and beef industry? Remember that Canadian beef has JUST started to be acceptable in some export jurisdictions? Remember the devastation wrought in our breeding export industry? Farmers in these industries are far from recovery.

Now, place all of that struggle next to dead pets, contaminated imported toothpaste, vitamins, baby food and all kinds of 'other' issues surrounding the import of our food products. What is our federal government's on-going plan to help farmers and consumers? Take a look at these articles and weep.

No Risk From Mad Cow Case, Ottawa Says
Canwest News Service Published: Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Who pays cost for food safety?
Calgary Herald Published: Tuesday, July 15, 2008

Mad cuts?
The Edmonton Journal

In a time that calls for more regulation of our food from the front end or the imported stuff and THIS is what they come up with. Farmers and consumers alike should be outraged!!!!!!!!

The struggling agriculture sector does not need more costs downloaded to it. And a national program that pays for very expensive, necessary BSE testing, should be the LAST place the budget should be cut. Testing is the very crux of improving and maintaining consumer confidence. You know, that group of people who actually buy food to eat? The same ones who have been crying out for MUCH improved labelling on a number of fronts, from 'Made or grown in Canada' to transfats and other stuff on labels that basically confuses the heck out of us all.

The articles tell us plenty. BSE is not the only poison pill they are hoping to load onto unsuspecting Canadians.

In a world of rising fuel and food costs, food security is what Canadians are talking about. I never dreamed that this government would be so out of touch with what Canadians really want. It wasn't too long ago that the woeful LACK of Canadian Food Inspection Agency testing was a hot topic.

Better scream loud and long.

Again!!?!?!

I was doing a bit of trolling to-day and found a couple of interesting articles that I think merit posting on this site.

One refers to Loblaws and the infamous Pear Juice recall of late.

Tainted juices pulled from Loblaws' shelves
Arsenic in organic children's pear drinks puzzles investigators
Louisa Taylor , The Ottawa Citizen (see complete article ...)

While I was browsing that site I came across another one.... this time about Food Safety... again.

Safety at the table
The Leader-Post (Regina 2008) (See complete article..)

Things have been reasonably quiet of late but these articles and concerns about Food Safety keep popping up. The Tainted Juice story came along quick enough to just put the cap on the jug, so to speak.

The Leader-Post takes readers partway down the road of 'what if'. In my opinion this is just the beginning because far too few have thought that one out.

What if .. our border closes again? It is far from impossible... all it could take is a little bird flu epidemic in the wrong place. What if a major processor is shut down for contamination of some sort? What if we have more drought in the wrong county? What if ... gas becomes too expensive or in short supply?

How will we feed ourselves then? I really don't want to think about this one. It means one heck of a lot of HARD work. I have canned and preserved and stored food before. It is not an activity that I am keen to return to ... but like a lot of consumers out there if I must, I must and will. - CG

The Silence is Deafening!!!

One reader recently asked the question: "Which consumer groups would best represent the feelings of the consumer?"

So I decided that, I would do a little bit of research into our consumer associations, to see what popped up. Imagine my surprise when on the main page of the Consumers Association of Canada, I found a ridiculous article slamming the "extra fat" one may find in cheese once the new regulations come into force. This title may give you a clue: Federal Government Moves to Fatten up Canadians

It seems to me they should be far more concerned about the 'source' of Canadian food, the complete irrelavence of the "Product of Canada" label, the need for Canadians to retain their food producers and their processors (Did we learn nothing from BSE?) , among a few of the pressing issues about food that consumers want answers for.

Instead the CAC spent their time slamming Canadian dairy farmers for demanding regulations that will ensure the quality and components in cheese manufactured or shipped into this country. This means the label on cheese will actually mean something to consumers and that cheese that says it's cheese will taste like cheese and cook like cheese. How can that be a bad thing?

I don't think they are in much of a position to give us any help. Consumer associations do not seem interested in rounding out the public education at all. They are more likely to be attacking agriculture.

The whole issue of new regulations for cheese also has sparked some more nasty articles in our favourite national news rag (the Globe and Mail). Conveniently included is Mr. Reynolds e-mail so you can fire off a missive.

Entitled:

Sacred cows: Guess who's getting milked

NEIL REYNOLDS
nreynolds@xplornet.com

February 1, 2008

OTTAWA -- Except for nuclear power, Canada's dairy industry is perhaps the most intensely regulated industry in the country - and perhaps the most discreetly regulated, too. When the federal government quietly promulgated radical new restrictions on Canada's cheese makers in the Canada Gazette last month, it did so on Boxing Day.

At the heart of the new edict is a requirement that cheese contain a higher proportion of whole milk - as opposed to milk byproducts - a change that cheese makers say would increase the cost of production. In its commentary on these protectionist regulations, the government noted in passing that the dairy industry has been getting smaller, "with typically static or declining growth," for 15 years. The only significant exception, it observed, was cheese. From 307,000 tonnes in 1994 to 379,000 tonnes in 2005, Canadian cheese production has increased by almost 25 per cent -- most of it in the form of innovative "specialty" cheeses that give consumers the illusion of access to the cheeses of the world. read more...

If you want real information about cheese and the new regulations, check my post 'Campaign to Keep Cheese Real' and the Real Cheese website.

Oh, and don't forget to speak to Mr. Reynolds.

Local Milk ??

The Canadian consumer is upset but they are not screaming at their MP's or sending volumes of letters. This would be a helpful response for the farm industry in this county. It might wake legislators up. However, don't hold your breath.

Instead, busy consumers are doing other things to protect themselves from the onslaught of imported foods. They are freezing fresh vegetables they bought this season from markets and stores, that they know are local/regionally sourced. Fruit cellars and root cellars are topics of interest again. The Local food movement is growing by leaps and bounds.

So what about milk?

In discussion with just about anyone who supports local food movements it becomes very clear they have no idea how milk and milk products are supplied to plants in this province. They also don't seem to realize that the farm down the road is the supplier of their product and his milk could go to any of those plants.

According to Dairy Farmers of Ontario, this province has 76 milk processors. They list 10 of the largest and most well know on their links page. Why not on their "Comsumer page" too?

Somehow though, the dis-connect between even dairy farmers and consumers remains. The average guy is just not going to go looking for this info. They assume 'organic' is local, because for decades it was!

For the rest of the ag industry, less well funded and less focused on this issue, virtually NO information is getting to THEIR consumers about the issues in their industry that they need the buying public to understand.

Farmers are in despair and consumers are looking for local solutions. Meanwhile the largest, most efficient distributor of food products (the food retailers), is bringing food into their stores that I and many other consumers do not want!!!

It is in with-in the power of farmers to act. It will not be cheap. The buying public MUST find out what is going on. For many of them the major source of their information is the local media.

If newspapers and television will not provide the public with the information they need, then farmers and their organizations need to do much, much more to solve this problem.

A 'Grown in Canada' label is a good thing for us all. However, without pressure from the public, this is a slow road to salvation and I don't believe we have the luxury of time on our side.

Farmers and their organizations have all the information the public needs. They need to share it.

A Watershed Moment??

On CTV National news last night a segment of W-5's season opener: "Safe to Eat?", was aired as 'news'. Hot diggity.. maybe now the government will pay attention.

So, just for fun I visited our friendly neighbourhood CTV W-5 sites and CBC Marketplace to see what has been happening since both these shows aired.

Certainly the CBC site has more to offer in visible feedback from the consumers who viewed the show. Comments on the site are growing by leaps and bounds. Most consumers are shocked. Many seem to view to current state of affairs on "Made in Canada" as a government betrayal of a public trust!! Hmmmm. This sounds promising.

The comments do cover a wide range of thoughts on the issue, from alternate strategies to protect themselves to complaints about the choice of food retailers and processors. All of them are wonderfully illuminating.

Taken together, they point to the massive disconnect the public has with the source of their food. This is not their fault. The struggles farmers have had with WTO policies and the results, processors and their bottom lines and a lot of other stuff, just isn't 'out there'. If it does hit the media, few make the connection to themselves and their futures or their food. They just don't have enough information to do that.

Agriculture must help them understand what the risks are, what is going on out there and what we might need to do to 'fix' this current state of affairs. But if they come up with something, it must get media exposure. Somehow, it is to be hoped that their messages are heard.

CBC's Marketplace, Too?!

While the buzz about the up-coming show for W-5 has been spinning out there in Internet land, this came back in!

CBC's Marketplace did a show this week too! Aired on Wednesday evening they deal with the Made in Canada label and consumer's feelings both before and after their investigation. The headline reads: It says "Product of Canada" on the package, but the food is really from China. Or New Zealand. Or...

CBC also has extensive written information on how to ensure you really get domestic food AND a comments section that is quite revealing. If you have Facebook connections DO pass this around. As consumers we need to know and be educated about this farce in labelling.

Two networks on the same topic on investigative shows in ONE week. WOW!!!!

Watch CTV's W-5!!!

This Saturday evening, CTV's W5 has it's season opener. They have been advertising it all week. The topic should have every farmer in the country glued to the set. 'Safe to Eat?' should wake up and help to educate consumers. From talking to many of them I know that the average shopper still doesn't understand how little protection they have or how exposed they are by the inadequacies of the "Made in Canada" label.

The missing backbone in the "Made in Canada" legislation has also exposed many of our domestic farmers to ruin as processors take advantage of the "holes" in the labelling guidelines that allow them to import vast quantities of cheap food, simply to re-package it. The poor consumer thinks they are being protected by our pitiful "Made in Canada" label.

I can hardly believe that someone has finally picked up this issue. So far, mainstream media has skated around the edges of this one.

Farmers are being handed a prime time springboard and they better be prepared to leap!

Cheesed Off!!!!

I was very surprised last evening to see an extensive report on the CTV National news about the new cheese regulations. CTV covered the story but to me the most important part of the issue for the public was either missed or ignored by the media.

They had quotes from several organizations, none who are happy about the new regs. All were referring to the old saw about increased consumer prices. Their new twist is this is bad for consumers because the additon of milk will make it harder to provide 'low-fat' cheeses!!! Back to the 'fat attacks'!!!!

There was a brief clip of the Chair of Dairy Farmers of Canada talking about this 'consistency' being good for consumers.

The real issue and message seemed to disappear in all the hyperbole. This is of course the fact that many ingredients in use now can be from Canada but are not necessarily from Canada. Expediency, amounts available and of course price, all impact the country used as the source of the stuff.

In my consumer mind the only thing I want to know is that the stuff IS from Canada. Period.

Not China, the USA or Europe or Asia or India ....... Canada. Until cheese manufacturers can answer that question, they need to get off the pot. Label the stuff so I don't have to guess. Lots of others do. The public wants decent labelling and 'made in Canada' laws that give us real information.

A love affair with ice cream

The Star has been doing an amazing job of trying to educate it's consumers. This article deserves a re-print because it is specific about various ice cream makers and the fact much of the ice cream out there is NOT made from cream. I am positive many consumers will be shocked and the dairy industry had better be prepared for their next question: "So where does it come from?"-CG

Husband and wife team Martin deGroot and Ineke Booy operate a dairy farm, as well as an organic ice cream bar, near Elora, west of Guelph.

A love affair with ice cream

June 27, 2007

TheStar.com -We seem to associate it with good times, so it's no mystery why we love the creamy stuff

Katherine Elphick Special to the Star

When it comes to ice cream, Doug Goff is always "on the lookout for weird and wonderful" flavours.

"If there's a strange one on the list, I'm the guy who will try it," says Goff, a University of Guelph professor of food science who specializes in dairy, specifically, in ice cream.

Bizarre entries to his flavour inventory range from salmon and lobster to jalapeño pepper.
Sampling could be considered research for the ice cream expert. He's penned a textbook, published various studies on ice cream and taught courses on the subject for 20 years.

With such credentials, it seems only fitting to ask this ice cream guru: Why do we have a love affair with the stuff?

"It's a fun, social product, and people associate it with good times like vacations, family outings and birthday parties," Goff says. "It also satisfies a great number of taste needs and craving sensations. It's creamy, smooth, sweet and cold – and it comes in a wide variety of flavours."
Canadian per capita consumption is about 10 litres per year, but in the U.S., it's 22 litres per year.

Ontario is the hub of ice cream manufacturing in Canada, Goff says, with about 90 per cent of the national production. The three biggest players in Canada's market are Chapman's, Nestlé and Unilever, which has brands such as Breyers.

But there are smaller, independent manufacturers, often attached to dairies, throughout the province, such as Kawartha Dairy in Bobcaygeon, northeast of Toronto. Once exclusive to cottage country, the dairy's popular brand is now available across central Ontario.

Despite its expanding market, Kawartha Dairy's vice-president and general manager Blake Frazer says its premium quality hasn't been compromised.

"We still make ice cream the old-fashioned way," says Frazer, whose marketing strategy recognizes that cottagers might need that Kawartha fix during the off-season. "If you look at the ingredients, the first two items are fresh milk and fresh cream."

On hot summer days, customers can wait up to 30 minutes for an exceptionally creamy cone.
Other company-owned retail outlets are located in Minden, Bancroft, Lindsay, Uxbridge and Huntsville. This year, the company will churn out about 2 million litres of ice cream.

While Kawartha Dairy is sticking to old-fashioned methods of production, a growing number of manufacturers are abandoning the popular milk and cream formula. Several are now using mixes or, imported butteroil-sugar blends. Nearly half the butterfat used in ice cream comes from imported blends, according to industry estimates. In short, it's a substitute for Canadian-based dairy fat, an issue that angers some Ontario dairy farmers.

"The larger players are doing this for cost savings," says Frazer from his office overlooking the dairy, which has been owned by the Crowe family for 70 years.

A good cone can still be found at Mapleton's Organic Dairy near Elora, west of Guelph.

Traditional favourites and specialty flavours, including dandelion, are offered at this scooping shop, located on a 240-hectare dairy farm. Mapleton's products are also sold at health food stores and higher-end supermarkets.

"My wife's really creative," says Martin deGroot, who owns and operates the farm and dairy with his wife, Ineke Booy. "She's always coming up with new flavours."

Mapleton's processes its own milk (from 70 resident cattle) into certified organic premium ice cream, frozen and fresh yogurt.

"Our products really are farm fresh," says deGroot, while relaxing at the dairy's ice cream café and organic grocery store. Dressed like a scientist, in a white lab coat and hair net (he just finished making a batch of cappuccino ice cream), he stresses the importance of bringing people to the farm.

"It's a great way to reduce food miles," he explains. "The more we can sell off the farm, the better it is for the environment."

Ice cream aficionados should also check out Steen's Dairy in Erin, northwest of Toronto.
"We're a real old-fashioned kind of place," says Marie Maltby, 68, who has been the manager of the dairy bar for 31 years. "It's like stepping back in time when you come here."

The 60-year-old dairy bar features 16 bar stools where customers can indulge in a dish of handmade ice cream. The Steen family also runs the on-site dairy, which processes organic milk.
"Our ice cream is very creamy," says Maltby, who readily admits to doing lots of quality control. But the dairy bar is most famous for its homemade milkshakes.

Regular customer Robert Turnbull agrees. "The chocolate milkshakes are fantastic," he says, while waiting for his order. "They just have that small-town dairy taste, and nothing else can match it."

Maltby says that the best part about ice cream is its universal appeal. "You're never too old to enjoy it."

Katherine Elphick is a Barrie-area writer and recipe developer.

More Food News ?!?!

Lately, there has been almost too much information on the subject of imported food. I was sure this was affecting the average grocery shopper. The following article tells me I am on to something, here.

"Majority fear imported food unsafe, poll finds" from August 2nd Globe & Mail.

In addition, the Star, has been focusing on many local farmers help educate their readers about local food, many by Catherine Porter .

Toil and trouble, down on the farm

Strawberry fields not forever

The hopeless blight on our strawberries

Radishes and rutabagas and a bit of razzmatazz

'Eat local' message never goes out of style

And lately.......

Our fool's paradise of cheap products

Made in Canada?

Labelled in Canada

The wave of concern has become a crashing storm as more China scandals unfold. The latest of course involves our children and their toys. Our food and our children....... if I were a food retailer or processor in this country I would WANT to label my products, just to be safe.

Is the Food Fight Flourishing or Floundering?

When I spoke about the "Golden Opportunity" available for dairy farmers, I wasn't alone in my thinking. The recent week has provided a HUGE number of related news stories surrounding the issue of tainted food AND the concept of Local food.

I am impressed that it seems some action is taking place. But on this exploding issue, I have not seen anything in the media about the labelling and proposed, new regulations for cheese. That is not good. I sure hope dairy farmers are taking advantage of this window of opportunity, while it lasts!

There is a lot at stake. Much more than even I thought. We met with friends this week, who happen to live in Stoney Creek. (That is part and parcel of the Hamilton-Niagara belt, home to millions of people.) My friend has been subjected to my wrath about the whole China import issue as it pertains to our food. I wasn't sure she was listening. It turns out she was!

At a recent gathering of professional women, the issue of the cost of fresh local food came up. The subject was asparagus but it could have been any food grown in this country.

Apparently, for much of the winter asparagus was available, imported from the USA and Mexico for $1.49 a lb. The first local asparagus has hit the stores and the price is $2.79 a lb.! This is what generated the discussion she related to me.

So, as the discussion continued, my now very educated friend stated support for the locally grown asparagus, even with it's current price. She also told the other women her reasons ( food safety and not from this country). The conversation then turned to labelling and it turns out that NONE of those women had a clue about Made in Canada!!!! They thought that the "China" label on some frozen vegetables meant the plastic wrapper! I remind you all, that these are well educated, intelligent women. I knew the problem was bad but this blew me away.

Labelling and made in Canada regulations and import labels are obviously not well understood!

I rest my case. If the government can't/won't educate consumers, farmer MUST! It is imperative or they will drown under the imported products coming from other countries.

This also speaks to the issue of labelling for cheese. Dairy farmers must educate their consumers or they will not succeed with their battle on labels and regulations. There must be some profile to this or the message will NOT get out there.

How about fighting fire with fire? The processors have sent an 'open' letter to the Minister. Dairy farmers should emulate them and go one better... a simple, clear cut ad explaining to the public "why" they need this too!

China's Food Issues Just Keep On......

Here we go with more stuff in the mainstream media. Some of the players are the same here in Canada. These are just glimpses into the complicated food system that has developed in North America. I think that is the largest shock to most consumers. They had no idea.-CG


Production trumps quality Apr 28, 2007 04:30 AM
China faces growing concerns over its exports in wake of tainted pet food, milk

Ariana Eunjung Cha
Special to the Star

SHANGHAI–Something was wrong with the babies.

The villagers noticed their heads were growing abnormally large while the rest of their bodies were skin and bones. By the time Chinese authorities discovered the culprit – severe malnutrition from fake milk powder – 13 had died.

The scandal, which unfolded three years ago after hundreds of babies fell ill in an eastern Chinese province, became the defining symbol of a broad problem in China's economy.
Quality control and product-safety regulation are so poor in this country that people cannot trust the goods on store shelves.

Until now, the problem has not received much attention outside of China. In recent weeks, however, consumers everywhere have been learning about China's safety crisis. Tainted ingredients that originated here made their way into pet food that has sickened and killed animals around the world, with nearly 4,000 deaths reported in the United States.

Chinese authorities acknowledge the safety problem and have promised repeatedly to fix it, but the disasters keep coming. Tang Yanli, 45, grandaunt of a baby who became sick because of the fake milk but eventually recovered, said that even though she now pays more to buy national brands, she remains wary.

"I don't trust the food I eat," she said. With China playing an ever-larger role in supplying food, medicine and animal feed to other countries, recognition of the hazards has not kept up.
By value, China is the world's No. 1 exporter of fruits and vegetables, and a major exporter of other food and food products, which vary widely, from apple juice to garlic to sausage casings.
China has been especially poor at meeting international standards.

The United States subjects only a small fraction of its food imports to close inspection, but each month rejects about 200 shipments from China, mostly because of concerns about pesticides and antibiotics and about misleading labelling.

Since 2000, some countries have temporarily banned whole categories of Chinese imports. The European Union stopped shipments of shrimp because of banned antibiotics. Japan blocked tea and spinach, citing excessive antibiotic residue. South Korea banned fermented cabbage after finding parasites in some shipments.

As globalization of the food supply progresses, "the food gets more anonymous and gradually you get into a situation where you don't know where exactly it came from and you get more vulnerable to poor quality," said Michiel Keyzer, director of the Centre for World Food Studies at Vrije University in Amsterdam, who researches China's exports to the European Union.

Chinese authorities, while conceding the country has many safety problems, have claimed other countries' assessments of products are sometimes "not accurate" and have implied the bans may be politically motivated, aimed at protecting domestic companies that compete with Chinese businesses.

China's State Food and Drug Administration, Ministry of Health and Ministry of Agriculture – which along with other government agencies share responsibility for monitoring food and drug safety – this week declined to answer written questions sent to them via fax.

In the United States, more than 100 brands of pet food have been recalled since March 16 because of a spike in animal deaths, generally from kidney failure. The recall, one of the largest ever, included mass-market brands sold in stores like Safeway and Wal-Mart, as well as pricey brands sold by veterinarians and specialty retailers.

The FDA and a manufacturer in South Africa have found that several bulk ingredients shipped from China, including wheat gluten and rice-protein concentrate, were contaminated with an industrial chemical called melamine.

Last week, concern about animal safety transformed into a concern about risk to people.
California state officials said the industrial chemical melamine had been found in livestock feed at a hog farm and could pose a "minimal" health risk to people who ate pork from there.

The investigations are unearthing details of the food chain that were previously a mystery to most Americans, including the international dealings that determine how ingredients make their way into the food supply. U.S. companies are under relentless pressure to cut costs, in part from consumers who demand low prices, and obtaining cheap ingredients from China has become an important strategy for many of them.

In China, meanwhile, the government has found that companies have cut corners in virtually every aspect of food production and packaging, including improper use of fertilizer, unsanitary packing and poor refrigeration of dairy products.

William O'Brien, president of Hami Food of Beijing, which transports food for the McDonald's restaurant chain and other multinational companies in China, said in some of his competitors' operations, "chilled and frozen products very often come in taxi cabs or in vans – not under properly controlled conditions."

The Chinese government has undertaken a major overhaul of its monitoring system by dispatching state inspectors to every province.

Almost a Disaster .....

For all those in the dairy industry who do NOT understand that we are living in a new world....

The only place I have found this report is in an Ontario agricultural newspaper & FSnet, a food safety Internet page. Lucky, lucky dairy farmers, that this is NOT being seen in the major papers.

How they could have missed this one is any body's guess. Traceability has advanced to the point they can and did identify the VAT # the tainted batch came from. If you can't be bothered to read this article.....think again. The judge awarded $5,019,091.50, to Schneider's . Did the plant contaminate the batch or did the milk arrive that way? The article does not speak to this issue, but dairy farmers had better think about it long and hard.-CG

SCHNEIDER WINS FOOD POISONING SUIT; A JUDGE HAS AWARDED COURT COSTS, DISBURSEMENTS AND INTEREST TO SCHNEIDER IN ITS CASE AGAINST PARMALAT

November 14, 2006Ontario Farmer

Jim Romahn

Toronto - The courts have sealed all of the documents for the 27-day trial of the lawsuit Schneider Corporation filed against Parmalat Food Inc. over the largest food poisoning case in Canadian history. There are five boxes full of testimony, exhibits and other court documents in storage at Cooksville, but court officials will not allow anybody other than the lawyers involved in the case to look at them. Justice Blenus Wright cited business confidentiality as the reason for sealing the files.

What is open to public scrutiny is a small file containing documents and letters lawyers filed as they argued over court costs. The judge awarded costs in the case to Schneider Corp. Schneider claimed fees of $2,219,441.50 and disbursement costs of $772,067.22, but Justice Wright called the fees "absurd". Parmalat countered that the fees ought to be no more than $848,352.71 and disbursements $462,307.56. The judge set the fees at $884,518 and disbursements at $517,128.54 and tacked on $1,726,420.72 for interest. His judgement in favour of Schneider Corp. was $5,019,091.50, so the bottom line came to $8,197,158.70. At one point Schneider Corp. offered to settle for $6.8 million, but Parmalat did not accept.

That's what Schneider's lawyers said in their letter to Justice Wright to explain why the costs rose so high. They said Parmalat fought the case on every front, throwing up a myriad of possibilities for the source of salmonella bacteria that contaminated Schneider Lunchmate products that sickened thousands of Canadians, including many school children who had the snacks packed in their lunches.

Parmalat even fought inclusion of Canadian Food Inspection Agency test results right up to the beginning of the trial and it fought inclusion of provincial lab results until it finally yielded on that point five days into the trial.

Justice Wright put all of the blame on Parmalat and that's why he awarded Schneider Corp. more than $5 million, plus interest plus costs. The interest, at five per cent, accumulated from 1998, when the food poisoning occurred, to May, 2005, when Wright issued his decision. Justice Wright said Schneider Corp. made "a poor use of resources" in putting 10 lawyers, four articling students and nine law clerks on the case. Schneider's law firm was Gowling, Lafleur, Henderson. Parmalat hired Dutton, Brock.

The documents indicate Schneider's paid $5,504.63 for the appearances of 10 witnesses and $557,561.33 for experts. Parmalat's costs for witnesses, experts and legal fees are not disclosed in the court documents.

Schneider originally sued for between $7,999,000 and $8,352,000 plus an unspecified amount for defamation. Schneider's lawyers withdrew the defamation claim during the trial, but wanted to add $1.5 million to $2 million to cover increases in insurance premiums. Wright originally awarded Schneider Corp. $4,660,291.50 on May 20, but when Schneider Corp. pointed out another $300,000 for products other than its Lunchmate lines that were involved in recalls, and $58,800 for days lost from production, Wright agreed to add them for a new total judgment of $5,019,091.50 he awarded June 6.

Schneider was making two private-label products - No-name Lunch Box and Our Best Lunchkins - that were involved in recalls. No contamination was ever found in those lines. The court documents indicate that the judge decided that the salmonella that poisoned consumers came from Parmalat vat 1804 manufactured at Millbank.

Note: emphasis mine-CG