Ottawa – Canada’s meat and egg processors welcome the introduction of Bill S11 the Safe Food for Canadians Act.
“Food safety is the number one priority of Canada’s red meat, poultry and egg processors” stated Canadian Meat Council Executive Director Jim Laws, Canadian Poultry and Egg Processors President and CEO Robin Horel and Further Poultry Processors Association of Canada General Manager Robert DeValk. “We fully support actions to consolidate and modernize CFIA’s suite of food commodity legislation.”
The need to modernize and strengthen food legislation in Canada has long been recognized in government and industry. In July 2009, the independent investigator into the 2008 listeriosis outbreak recommended that government “simplify and modernize federal legislation and regulations which significantly affect food safety”. Bill S11 proposes to do just that.
“Over the coming months, the CFIA plans to engage with Canadians, industry stakeholders and other government departments, including federal partners, through a series of consultations to discuss its regulatory modernization strategy. We will be fully engaged at those consultations” stated Robin Horel.
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency currently delivers 8 different food inspection programs, each using different inspection methods and tools. “The proposed Safe Food for Canadians Act will improve food oversight by instituting a more consistent inspection regime across all food commodities and introduces better controls on imported foods” stated Robert de Valk.
“We look forward to working closely with the government and elected officials at parliamentary hearings to ensure that the new act sets up an internationally competitive regulatory framework that enables and encourages the Canadian meat industry to achieve the highest levels of food safety” stated Jim Laws Executive Director of the
Canadian Meat Council.
Canada’s meat and egg processing industry includes some 400 federally registered establishments, providing not only safe, high quality protein for Canadian consumers, but also adding jobs and making a significant contribution to local economic activity in both rural and urban Canada. With some 67,500 employees and annual sales exceeding $ 21.3 billion, the industry is the largest segment of Canada’s food processing sector.
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For additional information, contact: |
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Jim Laws |
Robin Horel |
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Robert DeValk |
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Executive Director |
President and CEO |
General Manager |
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Canadian Meat Council |
Canadian Poultry and Egg |
Further Poultry Processors |
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613-729-3911, ext 24 |
Processors Council |
Association of Canada |
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613-724-6605 |
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613-738-1175 |
Source: Canadian Meat Council Canadian Poultry & Egg Further Poultry Processors
