McRib leads to lawsuit

The return of McRib sandwiches to McDonald’s menu has led to a lawsuit complaining that it’s not pork ribs but pork fashioned to look like ribs.

A federal judge in the United States is allowing proposed class-action lawsuit against McDonald’s to move forward.

United States District Judge April Perry rejected McDonald’s bid to dismiss the case, saying it was too early to conclude that reasonable consumers would not expect rib meat based on the sandwich’s name and advertising. 

The lawsuit alleges McDonald’s shaped the patty with rib-like ridges and marketed the product in a way that encouraged consumers to believe they were purchasing a sandwich made with rib meat rather than other pork ingredients. 

Judge Perry wrote the plaintiffs’ understanding of the term “McRib” was “not unreasonable or fanciful.”

CFIA suspends Grace’s Choice Inc.

 

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency has suspended the licence for Grace’s Choice Inc. of Toronto for failure to comply with food safety standards and regulations.

It faulted the company over labelling, recall preparedness, traceability, hazard identification and complaint procedures.

Milk price to increase by 2.8 per cent

 

Milk prices will increase by 2.8 per cent on February 1, the Canadian Dairy Commission has announced.

Fuel and feed costs have risen, but so too has the value of beef-cross calves.

The commission initially calculated an increase of 3.5548 per cent was warranted, but reduced that to 2.8 per cent after consulting  stakeholders including the restaurant trade, supermarkets, farmers and processors/

Some of them said cost-of-production increases may not persist into next year.

Rabobank foresees trouble for pork

 

Rabobank predicts weakening global demand for pork which is reducing prices and squeezing farmers’ margins so they may reconsider production plans for next year.

Rabobank’s October Global Pork Quarterly Q4 2026 report warned that disappointing third-quarter markets in North America, Europe and China had increased pressure on producers despite relatively modest expectations for supply growth.

In the United States, pork cutout values were running 25 per cent below year-ago levels, driven partly by declining demand for bellies and hams. Belly prices had declined by 39 per cent year over year to their lowest seasonal levels since 2017, while ham prices were down by 19 per cent.

Rabobank attributed the weakness to reduced foodservice demand, limited retail promotions and consumers facing continued inflationary pressures. Shifting dietary preferences also contributed to slower demand for processed meat products.

AGCO weathering tough market

 

"AGCO delivered resilient third-quarter results in what is the weakest global industry demand environment in more than a decade," said Eric Hansotia, AGCO's chairman, president and chief executive officer.

He said machinery companies face higher input costs and uncertainty in commodity markets and trade, but AGCO survived by adjusting production to demand, maintaining cost discipline and managing dealer inventories.

“We also advanced our Farmer-First strategy by strengthening the market position of our premium brands and expanding precision agriculture solutions that help farmers automate tasks, address labor constraints and get more from their equipment," he said.

Net sales for the first nine months of 2026 were approximately $7.2 billion, an increase of seven-tenths of one per cent from last year.

Net income was $177.2 million compared with $625.8 million.

Kosher meat packer disgruntled

 

Mendy Boyarsky said he is being shut out of an important part of the kosher meat market in Montreal and is considering a legal challenge to Canada’s Competition Tribunal.

He believes the Jewish Community Council of Montreal (JCC), which operates Montreal Kosher, known as MK Kosher certification, has used its dominant position in the market to squeeze out competition among meat suppliers — such as himself — and pressure local congregations to buy only MK approved kosher products. 

“They don't allow competition in the market. So they're able to charge exorbitant prices,” he said.

The market he covets is sales to synagogues and banquet spaces. He is surviving on sales to shoppers who come to his store., Adelph Meats in Côte Saint-Luc, in Montreal's west end.

“There hasn't been another option other than the MK in Montreal for who knows how long,” he said.

He chose to operate outside of MK Kosher’s certification system and to use a different kosher meat certifier — Kashrut Supervision du Rabbinat (KSR).

“We have to be able to sell it to the synagogues, we have to be able to sell anywhere we want to be able to sell to,” he said.

He has support from many in the Montreal Jewish community who want to see his situation put before the Competition Tribunal, said Joshua Krane, a competition law specialist and partner at MLT Aikins in Ottawa.

Quebec cheese company licence suspended

 

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency has suspended the licence for Le Fromage au Village Inc. of Lorrainville, Quebec.

The CFIA said the company failed to identify food safety hazards, to develop and implement monitoring, control and response procedures to prevent Listeria monocytogenes food-poisoning bacteria and lacked an adequate product traceability program.