The Canadian Government Offers $360,000 to Help Promote Food Safety

The Honourable Gerry Ritz, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food and Minister for the Canadian Wheat Board, today announced nearly $360,000 in funding for the Canadian Federation of Independent Grocers (CFIG) to train store owners and managers on a new food safety system, and to help small producers and processors promote their products to grocery retailers.

“The Government of Canada is proud to support food retailers who continue to make food safety a priority in their stores for all consumers,” said Minister Ritz. “Farmers, processors, distributors and retailers all ensure that Canadians can be confident in the safety of the food they purchase.”

Under the Canadian Food Safety and Quality Program, the CFIG received $284,700 to provide store owners and managers with the necessary training to implement a new Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points (HACCP)-based food safety system in their stores. The food safety system is one component of a Canadian Retail Food Safety Program being developed jointly by the CFIG and the Canadian Council of Grocery Distributors (CCGD) with $1.2 million in total funding over the last three years from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada.

In addition, the CFIG received $75,000 to develop the “Destination Canada” pavilion for Grocery Innovations Canada 2007, which ran October 29-30 in Toronto. Destination Canada allowed 28 small producers and processors the opportunity to network and showcase their products to grocery retailers from across the country during the two-day exhibition.

As was recently outlined in the Speech from the Throne, food safety is a top priority for the Government of Canada. The federal government said it will continue to work with the provinces and territories, farmers, and industry to ensure that Canada’s standards of food safety and quality remain among the highest in the world.

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