Beef is on display at a Walmart in Beijing on Sept. 23, 2019. (File photo: Reuters/Tingshu Wang)

China’s coronavirus testing chokes beef trade

Additional inspections, disinfections costly for importers

Beijing | Reuters — In a supermarket in downtown Beijing, refrigerator shelves normally filled with steak from around the world sit empty as tougher testing for the novel coronavirus creates supply bottlenecks and raises prices for importers. Fresh supplies of beef won’t arrive for days, a salesman at the Suning.com-owned Carrefour outlet told Reuters — […] Read more

VFO takes ‘next step’ by hiring compliance officer

VFO takes ‘next step’ by hiring compliance officer

Former police officer will target non-payment of veal checkoff fee

Former police officer will target non-payment of veal checkoff fee

Veal Farmers of Ontario (VFO) has hired a veteran of both municipal policing and border services for a newly-created position of inspection and compliance officer. The organization is acting on a recommendation to bring in expertise in auditing and compliance. Geoff Holwell will join the producer organization on a part-time basis, with his primary responsibilities […] Read more

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B.C. ag ministry to take over regulation for on-farm slaughter

Class D- and E-licensed sites to move to ag ministry oversight

British Columbia is set to consolidate all provincial-level meat inspection duties into its agriculture ministry — including the regulatory oversight for on-farm slaughter work. The province announced Wednesday that all slaughter work licensed under its Meat Inspection Regulation for Class A, B, D and E sites will now be regulated through the ag ministry, starting […] Read more

File photo of the Harmony Beef plant at Balzac, Alta. in 2015. (Canadian Cattlemen photo by Debbie Furber)

Alberta’s Harmony Beef halts slaughter on positive COVID-19 test

CFIA pulls inspectors after plant employee tests positive

Ottawa/Winnipeg | Reuters — Harmony Beef, an Alberta packing plant, halted cattle slaughter on Friday after the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) kept some inspectors from work, due to a positive test for COVID-19 by a Harmony worker, the company said. The partial closure follows a positive COVID-19 test by a worker at U.S. chicken […] Read more

File photo of tomatoes growing on the vine in Mexico. (PinkBattousai/iStock/Getty Images)

Mexico and U.S. reach deal to end tomato tariff spat

Mexico City | Reuters — Mexican tomato producers have reached a deal with the U.S. government to avoid an anti-dumping investigation, Mexican Economy Minister Graciela Marquez said on Wednesday, ending a testy tariff dispute that had rumbled on for months. Under the deal, the vast majority of Mexican tomato exports will be subject to border […] Read more


SGS’s cereals lab in Guelph at its official opening in 2016. (SGS.com)

Inspections group SGS to slim workforce

Geneva | Reuters — Swiss inspections group SGS plans to trim its workforce by 2,000 across about 120 countries in a process of natural attrition rather than sudden cuts or corporate restructuring, company spokesman Daniel Rufenacht said on Thursday. CEO Frankie Ng was earlier quoted by Swiss newspapers Handelszeitung and Tribune de Geneve as saying […] Read more

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Increased Chinese inspections on Canadian meat for pork only

Ottawa | Reuters — Chinese plans to boost inspections of Canadian meat imports only affect pork rather than all meat products as the federal agriculture ministry initially stated, a Canadian government official said on Wednesday. A ministry notice seen by Reuters on Tuesday said the Canadian embassy in Beijing had been told Chinese customs agents […] Read more




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Grow facilities now required up front for new cannabis producers

Growers and processors seeking federal licenses to produce and/or process cannabis in Canada will now have to have their proposed sites “fully built” before they even apply. Health Canada announced Wednesday that the change takes effect immediately, saying it would better line up the cannabis sector with the approach the department already follows for approvals […] Read more