Food Certifications in Canada
The growing interest into what humans consume, and the implications on personal health and the planet, is encouraging producers and growers to become more conscious of production practices. A growing collection of food label certifications substantiate claims of the products, practices, ingredients, packaging, travel, and quality of goods. General themes of these certifications include; a focus on human health, dietary restriction assurance, human and animal welfare, and agricultural practices with environmental implications. The specific certification claims can be recognized by a collection of relevant logos. It is important to bear in mind that different certifications have different levels of confidence in them adhering to their claims. Depending on the certifications, specific required levels of information, monitoring, honesty, etc., the validity of different certifications vary. Some popular and well-known food certifications in Canada are listed below:
Common Certified Foods
Common Certified Foods
Organic
Organic certifications in Canada are overseen by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) and certifications are provided by a CFIA accredited certification body. The organic claim demonstrates that products contain at least 95% organic content and are certified in a manor according to standards set by the Canadian Organic Regime. It is also important for producers to employ sustainable management practices of land and ethical treatment of livestock.
Fairtrade
The Fairtrade certification in Canada is used to ensure that products are produced in such a way that is socially and economically fair, as well as environmentally responsible. The Fairtrade certification largely focuses on ensuring producers at the start of the supply chain are treated equitably. Producers govern 50% of the certification system in order to support the goal of alleviating the marginalization of small-scale producers.
SPCA
The Society to the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) food certification ensures that food is grown by Canadian farmers employing a higher set of standards when raising livestock. An example of an SPCA standard is to have egg laying hens free from cages. To ensure validity of these high standard claims, certified farms will receive a visit once a year by an independent, properly trained inspector. In order to decide if a farm meets the requirements for certification, a separate panel of experts is used.
Gluten Free
The Gluten Free Certification Program is a certification of high regard in the gluten free world. Using a management systems approach, the program will systematically prevent failures in the validity of the certification. This pre-emptive approach allows for reliance on more than just end product testing. Furthermore, a third-party auditor will conduct an inspection each year to ensure that standards are maintained.
Bibliography
Blain, B. (2021, April 14). Certification programs: Are they worth it? Food In Canada. Retrieved August 17, 2022, from https://www.foodincanada.com/opinions/certification-programs-are-they-worth-it/
Label claim certifications. NSF. (2021, April 19). Retrieved August 17, 2022, from https://www.nsfcanada.ca/certification-auditing/label-claim-certifications/
Gouvernement du Canada. (2022, July 6). Government of Canada. Canadian Food Inspection Agency. Retrieved August 17, 2022, from https://inspection.canada.ca/food-labels/labelling/industry/organic-claims/eng/1623967517085/1623967517522?chap=5 )
What is Fairtrade? Fairtrade Canada. (2021, March 17). Retrieved August 17, 2022, from https://fairtrade.ca/what-is-fairtrade/
SPCA certified. BC SPCA. (2022, July 28). Retrieved August 17, 2022, from https://spca.bc.ca/programs-services/farm-animal-programs/higher-welfare-food/spca-certified/
Certification information. Canadian Celiac Association. (2022, February 3). Retrieved August 17, 2022, from https://www.celiac.ca/food-industry-professionals/certification-information/