The Government of Canada announced today that they are planning on changing the legislation around Product of Canada and Made in Canada in regards to food products. Currently a product only has to have 51% of its value as Canadian (that includes packaging, labour costs, processing, etc.) to qualify.
So for instance if a company buys strawberries from Mexico and packages them in Canada they can call it a Product of Canada if at least 51% of the overall value is in the cost of putting them in the packages and the actual package costs. Obviously this is a little silly and misleading to consumers in our country so the Canadian Horticultural Council has been lobbying the government to change the rules.
The announced proposal is to change it into 2 categories: one called Product of Canada where all ingredients (except for those that are not grown here like certain spices or tropical fruit) must be of Canadian origin - ie. grown in Canada. The other would be Made in Canada where the product would need to undergo some manufacturing or processing in Canada but could include imported ingredients.
Attached is the link to healthcanadians.ca where you can read about the proposal and make comments - please take a look as this is a very positive thing for Canadian fruit and vegetable growers. It will allow them to differentiate their products more clearly in grocery stores.
http://www.healthycanadians.ca/pr-rp/cfli-icepa_e.html