Update: April 18, 2019 1330 CST
Editor’s note: The first version of this story, shown below, states the CFIA detected possible problems with 889 food products imported into Canada from China from 2017 to date.
However, the attached CFIA list “only listed products that were flagged as potentially not meeting federal requirements,” according to a CFIA email response.
The products from China were cases reported to the CFIA that required the agency to conduct follow-up activities to verify compliance and take actions, as appropriate.
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The Western Producer has asked the CFIA which of the 889 flagged Chinese products have not met Canadian food standards and awaits the organization’s answer.
This story will be updated as more information becomes available.
Original story:
In the past two years the Canadian Food Inspection Agency has detected many problems with Chinese food products imported into Canada.
Examples include metal in minced garlic, glass in bamboo shoots and sesame paste noodles, heavy metals in candy, harmful material in roasted garlic and herb breaded fillets, harmful metals in haddock fillet and mandarin oranges in light syrup, parasites in wild cod fillets, chemicals in a rice alcoholic beverage and unlabeled allergens such as peanuts, according to a spreadsheet provided to The Western Producer through an access to information request.
The CFIA spreadsheet documents all instances where the agency examined concerns with food or food ingredients imported into Canada from China, including the description of the product and issue found.
From the beginning of January 2017 to end of February 2019, the CFIA detected possible problems with 889 food products imported into Canada from China.
Here is the CFIA spreadsheet: China_Food
Do you think Canada should increase inspections of Chinese food products imported into Canada?
The Western Producers has contacted the CFIA to try to find out more information on the testing of Chinese food and food ingredients imported into Canada. This story will be updated as more information comes in.
Contact robin.booker@producer.com
