Canada bungled export tests

Documents released under Access to Information reveal that Canada bungled disease testing for either pigs or semen or both exported to Columbia.

The University of Montreal Lab, which was on the Canadian Food Inspection Agency list of labs approved to conduct the tests, missed diseases subsequently identified at a government lab in Colombia.

There were frozen samples which the University of Montreal lab tested again and confirmed the presence of the viruses identified by the Colombians.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency yanked the University of Montreal accreditation and switched testing to the University of Guelph.

The documents are heavily censored so there is no information about the Canadian exporter or the Canadian origin of the pigs and/or semen.

But inter-government correspondence hints that the issue might have been Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea virus in an Ontario herd. But that is only a vague hint.

World trade unraveling, economists warn

Doug Hedley and Al Mussell of the Agri-Food Economic Systems Associates, are warning that world trade agreements are unraveling, posing perils for Canada’s agriculture industry that relies heavily on exports.

“The global trade system under WTO (the World Trade Organization) has allowed small countries like Canada to be protected from the overwhelming power of large countries, facilitating an opening up of world trade,” said Douglas Hedley, Agri-Food Economic Systems Associate and co-author of the report. 

“Current tensions are bringing to a head issues that are of concern to many market-oriented, open-economy WTO members, including Canada.  But the extent of pressure being exerted and the nature of disputes also risks the unraveling of the system.”

Al Mussell, leader of Agri-Food Economics Systems Research, said “If the largest countries begin to operate outside of WTO jurisdiction, or flaunt it, others will question why they subject themselves to the restraints of international trade rules.

“The risk of increased international transaction costs, difficulties in global agricultural market arbitrage, discrimination among national suppliers of agri-food products, and increased domestic agricultural support is very real- and very serious for Canada,” he said.

I say that tariffs that U.S. President Donald Trump has imposed, and retaliation by China, Canada and many others, broke the WTO rules, but so far there has been no WTO discipline applied.

Lacking discipline, and seeing the devastating impact of the Chinese and U.S. tariffs, leaves countries such as Canada quaking in their economic boots.

I find it worrisome that recent moves by China seem to be breaking the WTO rules for Canadian canola exports and China’s suspension of pork imports from two companies and inspection harassment of upcoming pork shipments.

Premier hosts diplomats at BBQ

Ontario Premier Doug Ford hosted more than 200 diplomats at a “Taste of Ontario” barbecue to promote exports of Ontario foods.

It’s not known whether that included marijuana products, but has been said that he has marketing experience.

Marketing boards, such as Chicken Farmers of Ontario, farm organizations and companies participated.

Cholesterol levels the same for red meats and chicken

Chicken and red meats are equal in terms of LDL cholesterol that many associate with coronary vascular disease, said a research report from clinical trials conducted by the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, and the Children's Hospital Oakland Research Institute in California.

The study also found that LDL cholesterol levels were lower on a diet of vegetable proteins.

And almost as an afterthought, the report cautions that LDL levels go higher on a diet that includes processed red meats.

Eggs flunking inspection

A report from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency indicates that a lot of eggs, especially from small grading stations, fail to meet standards.

The report also indicates that the dominant companies in Ontario, which have had multiple quality issues in the past, appear to be doing much better than smaller-volume competitors.

I received documents under Access to Information on all eggs that flunked when the CFIA conducted random sample testing.

Burnbrae Farms of Lyn, Ont., had four samples there flunk inspection and one each in Abbotsford, B.C., and Calgary, Alta.

Grayridge Eggs Inc. of Listowel had one sample flunk, but Golden Valley Foods Ltd. in Abbotsford, B.C., in which L.H. Gray and Sons Ltd. holds a significant ownership share, had 22 samples flunk.

Burnbrae and Gray together hold about 90 per cent of the Ontario market where they are also the largest egg farmers and they both have nation-wide holdings and markets.

Nutri Oeufs Inc. of St. Hyacinthe, which has operations in several provinces, had 31 samples from its Quebec plant flunk.

Here’s how the smaller operations stack up, with the number of failed samples in brackets:

Quebec: 

Ferme St. Zatique Ltee of St. Zatique (13) plus one sample from its free-range operation, Grover Bruns Biologique.

Ferme Avicole Yboy Labelle of St. Eustache (3).

Les Oeufs Ovale Inc. of St. Lambert (16).

Ferme des Paysens of St. Jean-Baptiste (1).

Les Oeufs Richard of Riviere-Heva (3).

Ferme Clons Gauthier et fils of St.-Theodore d’Acton (2).

Ontario:

Ontario Pride Eggs, Kitchener (1).

Beking’s Poultry Farm, Oxford Station (1).

OK Egg Farm, Elmira (1).

Local Eggs Ltd., Millbank (1).

British Columbia:

Ben Den Ventures, Creston (4).

Golden Valley Foods, Abbotsford (22).

Mill Creek Farm, Harrup (1).

Pickle Patch Eggs, Creston (2).

Zebroff’s Organic Farm, Creston (1).

Pine Grove Farms Ltd., Abbotsford (7).

Thompson Creek Farm, Ruskin (1).

Farmer Ben’s Eggs, Duncan (3).

Island Eggs, Westholme (4).

Alberta:

Springhill Eggs, Lethbridge (3).

Spark’s Eggs, Colony (3).

Galimax Trading Co. (7).

Pincher Creek Colony (8).

Plainview Colony (1).

Little Bow Colony (7).

Springpoint Colony (3).

Goseglen Colony (1).

Granum Colony (2).

Harvest Haven (1).

Saskatchewan:

Star Egg Company, Saskatoon (1-lab test).

Manitoba:

Ackron Egg Farms Ltd., Steinbach (2-lab tests).

Country Side Farms, Steinbach (1-lab test).

Evergreen Colony Ltd. Somerset (1-lab test).

The full report can be obtained by filing a request to the CFIA Access to Information office, asking for already-released documents. It’s on the internet at open https://open.canada.ca/en/search/ati?ati%5B0%5D=ss_ati_organization_en%3ACanadian%20Food%20Inspection%20Agency.

                           

Poultry farmers’ lung health under study

Grace Bonnett, a summer student from the Gateway Centre of Excellence in Rural Health, will be investigating lung health for poultry workers in Huron and Perth Counties this summer.

She said because they are exposed to dust that contains bacteria, “we’ll be looking at that to create prevention measures and look at things like mask-fitting, but specifically with poultry workers in the barns (where) there’s a high percentage of bacteria that is inhaled on a daily basis.”

Bonnett will also be looking for ways to detect issues before the impact on health is serious.

“So it’s trying to reduce the risk, and early detection is really important because Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disorder develops gradually and it’s often not noticed until it’s in significant stages, at which point lung health has deteriorated so much that it’s hard to come back from,” she told CKNX Wingham reporter Bob Montgomery.

                           

Trudeau steps into Ford’s tree cutting

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has stepped in with $15 million to save the tree-planting program that Ontario Premier Doug Ford cut from the budget.

The $15 million spread over four years will save about 7.5 million trees that nurseries began to nurture for the provincial program.

Environment Minister Catherine McKenna said in a statement to CBC News that preserving the program will mean cleaner air, a healthier environment and good local jobs. 

"While Mr. Ford cuts programs that support tree planting, forest firefighting, flood management, and tackling climate change, we will continue to invest in a clean future for our environment, our economy, and our kids."