Starting next year, interprovincial trade in meat and poultry will be allowed.
The federal government and Canadian Food Inspection Agency announced a pilot project Nov. 6 that opens the door for a national meat program in which provinces can sell meat and poultry to one another without going through federally inspected processors.
Provincially inspected abattoirs and processors can submit applications to their province or territory by Jan. 7. One or two plants per province will be accepted and they will be allowed to process and ship their products outside provincial boundaries.
The CFIA will inspect the selected plants to make sure they meet proper food safety standards, said Cliff Munroe of Alberta Agriculture.
The government has promised up to $3 million for approved projects through the federal-provincial agricultural flexibility fund for upgrading of plants or other food safety improvements needed to move their products across the country.
Government will work closely with the selected establishments to conduct evaluations, collect samples and information and validate new inspection procedures.
Plants should have a marketing plan in place and should consider offering a niche product because they are unlikely to be able to compete against the large federal plants that can offer product cheaper and faster, said Munroe.
“At the end of the line what risk is the abattoir taking and is that pilot worth doing,” he said.
