1. Food Integrity A New Conversation About Food
February 2017

2. FOOD INTEGRITY INITIATIVE – PARTNERSHIP
Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA)
Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA)
Ontario Independent Meat Processors (OIMP)
Ontario Culinary Tourism Alliance (OCTA)
Greenbelt Fund

3. Food Integrity – A New Conversation About Food
Consumers expect that foods they purchase are safe and of high quality.
Consumers are becoming increasingly interested in the food they eat, where it comes from and how it is produced.
Consumers, industry, academia and government play an important part in ensuring food safety and quality.
Food integrity impacts across the supply chain – who is affected?
What are the benefits and opportunities to protect food integrity?

4. Food Integrity across the supply chain - BENEFITS
Maintain public confidence / trust in food
Industry growth and employment opportunities
Brand protection / economic advantage
Maintain/ increase market access
Standards are evolving
Food integrity/fraud monitoring requirements start to emerge
(e.g.. Food Safety Modernization Act – FSMA,
Global Food Safety Initiative – GFSI)
OMAFRA’s Foodland Ontario logo

5. Industry Initiative on Food Integrity – Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI)
GFSI created a working group with members of the Food Fraud Think Tank to advance the food fraud mitigation topic and the potential harm the incidents can bring to public health.
Recommendations:
Food fraud vulnerability assessment: identify vulnerabilities for food fraud
Food fraud vulnerability control plan to mitigate the identified vulnerabilities
Retailers are beginning to mandate Vulnerability Assessments as part of supplier compliance

6. Food Integrity in Ontario Current Status
There have been a number of recent media articles around the issue of food integrity – it is becoming a more overt topic of discussion
Industry leaders are paying attention – this is a critical issue from an economic and public trust perspective
OMAFRA is seeing an increase in compliance issues with current legislation
There have also been a number of recent charges laid by the CFIA on the issue of food integrity, for example:
Mucci Pac Ltd. (June 2016)
Fined $1,500, and sentenced to a three-year period of probation for offences under the Food and Drugs Act, the Consumer Packaging and Labelling Act and the Canada Agricultural Products Act.
Investigation substantiated widespread misrepresentation of imported greenhouse vegetables as a Product of Canada to retail establishments, over a 15 month time frame.
Cericola Farms Inc. (October 2016)
Representatives for Cericola Farms Inc., appeared in a Barrie courtroom to address eight charges alleging fraud, misrepresentation and false labelling after an investigation by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA).

7. Learning’s from other markets Scottish Beef
Significant industry speculation and accusations about mislabelling of Scottish beef
Beef from Ireland and other parts of Europe being sold as Scottish
Food Standards Scotland has established a food crime unit to investigate fraud in the market
A lot of damaging PR has circulated in recent months
Scots beef sector plays down fraud claims: food-fraud-claims.htm
Scotland’s food watch dog facing claims of fraud probe cover up: s_of_fraud_probe_cover_up/
Food Standards Scotland slams ‘sensationalist’ beef press report
Industry and regulators must be proactive at protecting the reputation of the industry – scandals are very damaging.

8. OPPORTUNITIES – What are we doing?
FOOD INTEGRITY INITIATIVE a Collaboration Between Government and Industry

9. FOOD INTEGRITY INITIATIVE – PARTNERSHIP
Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA)
Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA)
Ontario Independent Meat Processors (OIMP)
Ontario Culinary Tourism Alliance (OCTA)
Greenbelt Fund

10. FOOD INTEGRITY INITIATIVE – OBJECTIVE AND GOALS
To decrease the prevalence of food fraud in Ontario to help protect the sustainability of the agri-food industry (safety, economics, etc.) and maintain consumer trust.
1 - Build awareness and understanding about food integrity throughout the agri-food supply chain
2 - Identify priority areas and how to target
(e.g., species substitution; local vs. imports)
3 - Identify, develop and/or promote tools to combat
food integrity/ fraud

11. FOOD INTEGRITY TESTING SCIENTIFIC TRACEABILITY
Commercially proven scientific technology to authenticate food by origin
Traces actual products to their true origin by testing the natural chemical profile
Video – how the science works
Video – how the process works
Video – Importance for customers

12. Discussion
What are the challenges and opportunities facing your industry and members in this area?
Where are the specific risk points and how can these be addressed?
Are you open to further partnership in this area?

13. Appendix 1: Regulatory - Federal
Food and Drugs Regulation
Section 5(1) states that no person shall label, package, treat, process, sell or advertise any food in a manner that is false, misleading or deceptive, or is likely to create an erroneous impression regarding its character, value, quantity, composition, merit or safety.
Consumer Packaging and Labelling Regulations
Section 7(1) prohibits the labelling or selling of prepackaged food products containing any false or misleading representation.
Canada Agricultural Products Regulations
Section 17(a) prohibits the marketing of imported produce which is not packaged and labelled in accordance with the Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Regulations, including proper Country of Origin information, which is defined as the country in which the produce was grown.
The federal agency has a dual responsibility: it enforces standards regarding how food is described, and governs the safety and nutritional quality of food sold in Canada.
The Food and Drugs Act (FDA) applies to all foods sold in Canada, both imported and domestically manufactured products. The FDA establishes minimum health and safety provisions as well as other requirements to prevent fraud and deception.
Section 5(1) of the Food and Drugs Act states that no person shall label, package, treat, process, sell or advertise any food in a manner that is false, misleading or deceptive, or is likely to create an erroneous impression regarding its character, value, quantity, composition, merit or safety.
The Consumer Packaging and Labelling Act and Regulations (CPLA/R) provides for a uniform method of labelling and packaging of pre-packaged consumer goods (products sold at retail). It contains provisions regarding prevention of fraud and provides for mandatory label information with which consumers can make informed choices. It also requires the use of metric units of measurement and bilingual labelling.
Section 7(1) of the Consumer Packaging and Labelling Act prohibits the labelling or selling of prepackaged food products containing any false or misleading representation.
At the retail level of trade, CFIA protects consumers from economic fraud and product misrepresentation, and assists them in making informed product choices. The CFIA's role in the retail sector also results in fair competition for industry. Responsibility for food safety at the retail level is shared with provincial health units.
Section 17(a) of the Canada Agricultural Products Act prohibits the marketing of imported produce which is not packaged and labelled in accordance with the Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Regulations, including proper Country of Origin information, which is defined as the country in which the produce was grown.

14. Appendix 2: Regulatory - Provincial
O. Reg. 266/09: Livestock and Poultry Carcasses – Grades and Sales
under Food Safety and Quality Act, (FSQA), 2001
Provincially licensed meat plant operators are responsible for making sure their labels and advertising is accurate, truthful, and not misleading or deceptive.
O. Reg. 119/11: Produce, Honey and Maple Products (FSQA)
Prohibition, false information: 25. No person shall include any false or misleading information on any label, package, container or master container of produce, honey or maple product, or in any advertisement for the produce, honey or maple product or retail display sign for produce and, in particular, no person shall misrepresent, (b) the place in which the produce was grown or harvested or the honey or maple product was produced;
Food Label Requirements
To ensure consumers have reliable and trustworthy information, there are regulatory requirements for food labels. Provincially licensed meat plant operators are responsible for making sure their labels and advertising is accurate, truthful, and not misleading or deceptive.
Consequences
Labels that are inaccurate may be considered a violation of Ontario Regulation 266/09 Livestock and Poultry Carcasses - Grades and Sales under the Food Safety and Quality Act, 2001.
Penalties for an individual convicted of a provincial offence under the Food Safety and Quality Act, 2001 and its regulations may include: a fine of up to $25,000 for a first conviction and up to $50,000 for each subsequent conviction (for each day or part of a day on which the offence occurs or continues); imprisonment for up to two years; or both a fine and imprisonment as stated in section 46 of the act.
Corporations are subject to $100,000 per day ($200,000 on subsequent conviction).