CFIA suspends a licence

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency has suspended the licence of Ramelli Truffles Ltd. of Toronto for failure to meet regulatory requirements. The company was faulted for hazard identification, labelling requirements, traceability and recall preparedness

Empire profits still rising

As consumers complain about rising grocery prices, Canada’s big supermarket chains continue to pile up greater profits.Empire said its net income for the most recent quarter was $233 million, up from $214 million for the same quarter last year. Revenues were $8.48 billion, up from $8.26 billion. Revenues for food sales were up by one per cent, which is much less than food price inflation. Empire owns a number of retail chain stores including Sobey’s. Freshco and Farm Boy.

Peanuts with salmonella on recall

 

PK brand Roasted Lemon ‘N Chilli Peanuts are under recall because testing detected salmonella food-poisoning bacteria.

They were distributed in Ontario.

                           

 

Sam Oosterhoff is agr minister

Sam Oosterhoff, the youngest person (19) elected to the Ontario legislature in 2023, is the new agriculture minister He is a farmer’s son from the Niagara Region and has been an assistant to the ministers of energy intensive industries. After the 2016 election the Hamilton Spectator wrote that he is a social conservative opposed to abortion and same-sex marriage and was home-schooled in a religious family. He is of Dutch heritage. Before defeating Richard Dykstra for his first nomination, he worked in politics in Ottawa. He takes over agriculture from Trevor Jones who was moved to Minister of Immigration and Skills Development.

Ontario ponders ban on horse slaughter

 

 

Ontario is proposing a ban on horse slaughter and horse meat processing at provincially-inspected meat plants.

It said its ban does not extend to federally-inspected plants but none of them are currently licenced to slaughter horses.

The Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Agribusiness is proposing the ban due to public concerns about animal welfare.

Horse slaughter and exports to Japan have been under increased animal welfare activists’ attacks for the last several years.

There are federally-licenced horse slaughter plants in Alberta and Quebec. There is a steady export demand for Canadian horse meat.

The horse industry regards horse slaughter as a safe, convenient and economical way to dispose of culled horses.

The government said “we encourage you to review and consider this posting. Comments and feedback can be submitted to OMAFA using the Regulatory Registry, or via email to william.martin@ontario.ca.

Trump bans whey from Canada

 

United States President Donald Trump plans to ban Canadian whey and whey products.

He also intends to ban Canadian beer, wine and liquor and motorcycles in another escalation of his tariff war on Canada.

These latest measures are to take effect Sept. 28.

His bans came after Canada placed new tariffs on about $28 billion worth of U.S. products, also including milk proteins.

There are no indications of a return to trade negotiations.

The ban on whey products will be hard on the Canadian dairy industry which has enjoyed surging demand for milk protein products for people taking GLP weight-reduction and diabetes-controlling drugs. They need high protein diets.

Perth County gets improved ambulance service

 

Perth County is getting improved ambulance service from a joint program with London Central Ambulance Communications Centre.

The new service will do a better job of matching service with the needs of clients.

The goal is to send the right resource to the right patient at the right time. 

The service “ensures patients receive the most appropriate response based on their medical needs while allowing dispatchers to provide critical instructions before paramedics arrive." said Tristan Barter, Deputy Chief of Operations, Perth County Paramedic Services. 

Emergency Medical Dispatchers will ask additional questions about the patient’s condition and exact location, especially in life-threatening emergencies such as cardiac arrest, stroke symptoms, severe bleeding, trauma, or loss of consciousness.

Even while you are still answering questions, Paramedics will already be on the way.

If the situation is not life-threatening, there may be longer wait times so that paramedics remain available for those who need immediate critical care.

Dispatchers will stay in contact with the caller to provide support and instructions until help arrives.