The Canadian Meat Council is confident the federal government’s stepped up commitment to food safety will help strengthen the Canadian red meat sector’s competitiveness in export markets.
The 2018 budget, tabled last week, includes funding to increase the number of Diplomats and Trade Commissioners in China and Asia and funding to strengthen the Canadian Food Inspection Agency’s food safety systems.
Canadian Meat Council Communications Manager Marcus Mattinson notes there’s wide array of important activities the CFIA performs.
The CFIA is a very large partner with our industry. It’s a partner with producers, it’s a partner that we work with in our organization but also our members across the country interact with the CFIA n a daily basis. This is an important arm of our federal government, it’s an important agency for our industry and so it’s encouraging for us to see that the government will be allocating an additional 16 million dollars per year for the next three years to strengthen the systems that they operate to increase food safety.
Our industry is a big trading industry. Trade deals that have been struck on behalf of Canada around the world are of particular importance to our industry. The red meat industry in Canada particularly is poised to do very well in emerging markets and this has to do with the quality of our product and the strength of Canadian regulations.
I think people trust Canadians when it comes to producing high quality food and that includes trusting our institutions to ensure that the food is indeed high quality and is meeting the necessary standards.
~ Marcus Mattinson, Canadian Meat Council
Mattinson says part of the reason for the success of the Canadian red meat sector is that producers adhere to very high quality standards and strong regulations.
