June 6, 2012
The Canola Council of Canada (CCC)
welcomed today's introduction of the Safe Food for Canadians Act
that will strengthen Canada's food safety system. Provisions
contained in the Bill will allow the Canadian Food Inspection
Agency to maintain global confidence in the safety of Canadian
food, facilitating market access for Canadian canola in demanding
export markets and continuing to provide safe food for
Canadians.
"The federal government's food safety modernization
initiatives complement our industry's commitment to provide safe
and high quality canola oil," says CCC president Patti Miller.
"Ensuring that our international customers continue to respect our
food safety systems is essential for stable market access."
Today's Canadian Bill follows recent modernized food
safety approaches in Australia, the European Union, and the United
States. The American market is the largest destination for Canadian
canola, worth over $2.8 billion in 2011. Customers are increasingly
demanding modern food safety frameworks that incorporate
risk-proportionate preventative control systems. The legislation
tabled today is part of a broader modernization effort that
includes food safety regulation and inspection.
"We look forward to continuing to work closely with
the government to ensure this modernization improves the
competitiveness of the canola sector and assists with market
access," says Miller.
Food safety is also a key area of the Regulatory
Cooperation Council, a joint Canada-US effort initiated by Prime
Minister Stephen Harper and President Barrack Obama to facilitate
trade between the two countries. One of the initiatives involves
working to align Canadian and American systems. Aspects of today's
Bill will support this process.
"Because the US is our largest trading partner, it's
vital that we work together to have our food and feed products
trade easily between our two countries," says Miller.
The CCC is a full value chain organization
representing the entire canola industry, including growers, seed
developers, crushers and exporters. Canola is Canada's most
valuable crop, generating over $15.4 billion in economic activity
each year and is responsible for 228,000 jobs.
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For further comment, media may call:
Jim Everson, Vice-President of Corporate
Affairs
Canola Council of Canada
613-488-9916
