March / April issue by Meat Business Pro

March/April 2016

COOL IS OFFICIALLY GONE, BUT SOME ARE STILL SKEPTICAL

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WHERE’S THE BEEF? PEDV: WHY CAN’T THE CFIA CHANGE ONE REGULATION FOR THE GOOD OF THE COUNTRY?

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IN THIS ISSUE March/April 2016

5 6 10 14 16

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Don’t Forget the Farmer By Cam Patterson

COOL is officially gone, but some are still skeptical By Scott Taylor

Where’s the Beef? By Chuck Jolley

PEDv: Why Can’t the CFIA Change One Regulation for the Good of the Country? By Scott Taylor

Vacant Ag Jobs Costs Producers $1.5 billion

17 19 20 22 24 26

How Ottawa can shed a few pounds and avoid becoming badly out of shape from mounting deficits? By Dan Kelly

Ontario Pork Ushers Change with New Social Responsibility Report Modules for the Smart Meat Factory Batter Up to an Untapped Meat Market By Ronnie P. Cons

Safe Food Canada Releases Exploratory Study

NSF-GFTC Announces 2016 Award Winners

March/Aprily 2016 CANADIAN MEAT BUSINESS 3

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GUEST EDITORIAL

March/April 2016 Volume 15 Number 2

DON’T FORGET THE FARMER

PUBLISHER

By Cam Patterson

Ray Blumenfeld ray@meatbusiness.ca

We all know the movie It’s a Wonderful Life and that scene where Jimmy Stewart’s character George Bailey is lecturing Lionel Barrymore`s despicable Mr. Potter, and uttering that famous line, “Those people you’re talking about Mr. Potter, do most of the living and dying and working in this town.” And there is the perfect metaphor for the state of the farmer in today’s burgeoning agriculture sector in Canada.

MANAGING EDITOR Scott Taylor publishing@meatbusiness.ca DIGITAL MEDIA EDITOR Cam Patterson cam@meatbusiness.ca CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Scott Taylor, Chuck Jolley, Kevin Grier, Amber Ruddy, Ronnie P. Cons CREATIVE DIRECTOR Christian Kent Canadian Meat Business is published six times a year by We Communications West Inc.

We Communications West Inc. 106-530 Kenaston Boulevard Winnipeg, MB, Canada R3N 1Z4 Phone: 204.985.9502 Fax: 204.582.9800 Toll Free: 1.800.344.7055 E-mail: publishing@meatbusiness.ca Website: www.meatbusiness.ca Canadian Meat Business subscriptions are available for $28.00/year or $46.00/two years and includes the annual Buyers Guide issue. ©2015 We Communications West Inc. All rights reserved. The contents of this publication may not be reproduced by any means in whole or in part, without prior written consent from the publisher. Printed in Canada. ISSN 1715-6726

In our last issue Amber Ruddy from the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) wrote of the farmer’s plight under the controversial Bill 6 legislation. It described the endless red tape and paper trails government demands taking its toll on the small business farmer. We’re also now seeing the correlation between the beef industry and the oil crash of last year that has plummeted our dollar into the abyss. Regardless of how the meat industry packages, promotes and otherwise casts an optimistic view through this dismal economic period, it all comes down to where that precious supply has to come from to meet that valuable demand - the farmer, the rancher, the producer. It seems that with number of issues coming from varying directions, it all boils down to the small business farmer, ultimately a home owner, trying to keep his or her head above water. Like all of us who hold mortgages, we are currently living in a country where we could very well see the value of our dollar continue to decline. At the time of this writing, the Canadian dollar is at $ .76 compared to the U.S, $ .86 to the Yen, $ .68 to the Euro and $ .53 to the British pound sterling. Add to that the tariffs levied to those trade deals we’ve just signed and the possible economic downturn does not bode well for those of us homeowners in middle class Canada, even more so for the average Canadian farmer. Let’s keep in mind we’re not talking about the large, corporate entity farms but the everyday farm family that still make up the largest portion of those people that do the majority of that living and dying and working in this agriculturally rich country. The recent C-Suite Survey, the benchmark by which many of Canada’s elite execs and billion dollar economist firms set their rulers by, did not paint the prettiest of pictures either. The forecast for the loonie was for further weakening, an outlook driven by price of oil. Which brings us to Alberta and the crash that is by all intents and purposes showing no signs of recovering and the province where the largest portion of beef producing is still done. Yes, we’re talking about all meat farmers here but the simple reality is that oil is pumped mostly out of Alberta and is responsible for the largest portion of Canada’s GDP, and like it or not, is the litmus test our economy. The issues surrounding the drop in the price of oil is complex and multilayered and is driven by not only the glut of oil inventories stored in the U.S but by OPEC still pumping out barrels at record low prices. OPEC’s producers don’t have the regulations, the unions, or the bureaucrats to contend with, so they can pump away. It’s safe to say we all are liking the lower retail price at the gas pumps but the trade-off is it’s not Canadian oil were pumping and the production of our chief export has ground to a halt with catastrophic results. Property values continue to drop, homes are empty, skyscrapers in Calgary and other cities have entire floors empty as layoffs in the thousands continue to change lives and destroy families. Continued on page 9

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March/Aprily 2016 CANADIAN MEAT BUSINESS 5

COOL IS OFFICIALLY GONE, BUT SOME ARE STILL SKEPTICAL By Scott Taylor

If you believe the Canadian government, and one suspects it’s probably a good place to start, then Country of Origin Labelling (COOL) on beef, pork and chicken products is long gone. At least for now. We’ll get to the “for now,” later. Last month Chrystia Freeland, Canada’s Minister of International Trade, and Lawrence MacAulay, the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, issued the following statement in response to the United States’ decision in December to eliminate its COOL regulation: “Canada is very pleased that the U.S. has passed a law repealing discriminatory labelling requirements for beef and pork (and chicken), and that the U.S. Department of Agriculture amended the relevant regulations for this change to take effect. We are now reviewing the amendment. “The World Trade Organization found COOL to be inconsistent with the United States’ international trade obligations, as it discriminated against Canadian cattle and hogs. “This is a tremendously important development for our farmers and the economies of both our countries.” OK, that sounds simple. COOL is gone, Canada is happy and our cattle and pork producers should be pleased that the United States is finally going to live up to its trade obligations. However, one mustn’t get cocky. When it comes to our neighbors to the South, things can change in the blink of an eye. Although to be fair, I’m not sure there are very many Americans who want to pay the required freight to bring it back. One thing about Americans, especially those that don’t live in the “flyover states,” is that to them agriculture isn’t sexy and paying too much for it is something they’d rather not do.

6 CANADIAN MEAT BUSINESS March/April 2016

Of course, that doesn’t mean there might not be some backlash from other elements in the United States. A rumour had circulated that the Chicago Mercantile Exchange was not going to consider non-U.S. cattle for it’s futures projections, and that would be a big deal when it comes to the whole “no-segregation” conundrum to which COOL had given birth. However, according to the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association, no backlash has yet taken place. Canadian pork and beef producers estimate COOL has cost their sectors $1 billion annually since 2008 and it has been largely responsible for a 25 percent contraction in the domestic cattle herd. Obviously, Canada’s beef producers are still excited about the news. “After all these years, it’s wonderful news,” Canadian Cattlemen’s Association president Dave Solverson told CBC Radio. “Countries should abide by their international trade obligations, and given the consistent WTO decisions on this, I think the international trade obligations were very clear. If the U.S. is going to repeal those measures, I think it will make everybody happy because they will then be following the rules, hopefully.” Canadian Pork Council chair Rick Bergmann told the Globe and Mail that COOL’s repeal means the end of discriminatory pricing. In fact, Bergmann, who raises Isowean pigs, said in January that he had already noticed better price offers in the U.S.

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“That tells me that American producers have been talking with their processing plants that are in need of animals,” he said. “There are probably some speculators out there in the U.S. that say, ‘yes, common sense is going to prevail at the end of the day so let’s get these animals in now.’” Solverson said he is hopeful the value chain will soon return to pre-COOL conditions. “When I was lobbying in the U.S. earlier this year, I said this is a very unusual trade dispute,” he admitted, “because industry on both sides of the border was on the same side on the issue.” “Outside of a couple of small protectionist groups, the whole U.S. cattle industry and beef processing and the unions that work in the plant, everybody wanted COOL gone. It wasn’t just Canada and Mexico against the U.S. It was the industry against the administration.” As for the labels, well, we decided to check for ourselves. After a March weekend in Grand Forks and Fargo, N.D., we must admit that we saw no country of origin labelling whatsoever. Granted, United States producers love to claim that their beef and pork products are the world’s best and there were plenty of USDA Choice labels on both beef and pork products, but nowhere did we see labels that pointed out the exact country of origin of those products. Of course, they should no longer exist. After all, it was on Dec. 18, 2015, that U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack made the following statement: “Effective immediately, USDA is not enforcing the COOL requirements for muscle cut and ground beef and pork.” He also reassured American consumers that “all imported and domestic meat will continue to be subject to rigorous inspections by USDA to ensure food safety.” So, after years of pushback from both Canada and Mexico, the United States Senate finally voted in favor of a $1.1-trillion spending bill that included an amendment to repeal the COOL ruling, a ruling that “required producers and processors to identify where an animal was born, raised and slaughtered.” Still, there seems to be serious concerns. While the USDA may have repealed the labels and received more funding for food safety, the COOL labelling issue was merely a sentence or two in the U.S. House of Representatives Omnibus Spending bill. This was not a stand-alone bill. For many, the COOL issue was treated as nothing more than a sidebar and to them, it’s worrisome. Especially if someone like Donald Trump becomes President and the United States’ trade agreements and the country’s honorable standing in the world are no longer of any importance to the White House. Don’t laugh. It could happen. meatbusiness.ca

Continued on page 8

March/Aprily 2016 CANADIAN MEAT BUSINESS 7

Back in December, the World Trade Organization authorized Canada and Mexico to impose $1 billion in retaliatory tariffs on the United States for COOL. While many organizations and members of Congress wanted the requirement repealed as soon as was humanly possible in order to avoid the tariffs, groups called Food & Water Watch and the RanchersCattlemen Action Legal Fund (R-CALF USA) disagreed. “Congress is forsaking consumers and producers by terminating the right of U.S. citizens to know the origins of their food,” said Bill Bullard, CEO for R-CALF USA. “We urge members of Congress to demand that the COOL repeal language be removed from the spending bill. If it is not removed, then we will urge the President to veto the measure.” However, the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture (NASDA) supported both the increased food safety funding and the COOL repeal and on Dec. 18, 2015, the President signed the bill into law. And yet, there are many Canadians who are still worried. A Trump White House could easily turn every trade agreement into complete chaos. “The decision by the U.S. Congress to repeal country-oforigin labelling for beef and pork – a move that effectively ends a protracted North American trade dispute – is tremendous,” MacAuley last month. YesGroup_CanadianMeatBusiness-Qtr-pg.pdf 1 2014-05-16 1:20:17 PM

“It’s been a long eight years for the Canadian beef and pork industries in this country and this is great news for our cattle and hog industries. I am proud of how we stood up for our farmers and pleased that this is about to be resolved.” “This was a great Christmas present for Canada,” she said. “It really was a great day for Canada and it was a great day for the Canada-U.S. relationship.” Indeed. That’s because Canada and Mexico had long argued the rule discriminated against foreign meat products and violated international law. The Americans, who really had no argument whatsoever, insisted the policy “was needed to help consumers make better food choices.” The dispute ended up in front of the WTO four times and the WTO never once sided with the Americans. So back in December, more than 30 American products — including beef, pork and California wine — were identified by Canadian officials as targets for retaliation, but Freeland said last month that any retaliation “is absolutely” off the table for now.” U.S. Senate Agriculture Chair Pat Roberts, who has long pushed for COOL’s repeal, applauded the Senate’s decision in a written statement. “U.S. exporters can now breathe a sigh of relief,” Roberts said. “From the ranchers in Kansas to the jewelry makers on the East Coast, every state had something to lose from keeping mandatory COOL intact. “Those worries can now be put to rest, and I’m proud to say the Senate has voted to protect the American economy.” Still, Canada worries about potential obstacles that could be placed in front of exporters. “We are absolutely delighted COOL has been repealed, but the reality is the actual obstacles to Canadian beef and pork being sold into the U.S. market without any protectionist limitations – those obstacles as of the moment we are speaking have not yet been removed,” Freeland said. “So, we think that it is prudent of us to take the legal process to its formal, technical conclusion.” So it’s not over? Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Freeland and MacAulay had all vowed to retaliate against Canada’s largest trading partner if COOL was not repealed. Asked by the Globe and Mail when the ministers expected normal trade to resume, both ministers said they will be watching the markets closely. “We will be monitoring the situation,” MacAuley said. “We will ensure there are no problems.” One can only hope.

8 CANADIAN MEAT BUSINESS March/April 2016

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Continued from page 5 Don’t Forget the Farmer

For those in the business of producing meat to feed not only us but the rest of the world, the bottom line always comes down to the farmer and the rancher. Let’s look at a typical day in the life of an Alberta cattle farmer. It’s 6:00 am and the sun is cresting over the Rockies, searing a new day. The work boots are on, the coffee is drank and the walk from house to barn feels a bit longer. Despite the promoters and politicians who signed the TPP and CETA and made the deals to feed Asia and Europe seem like a world away, the bank has informed that your depreciated land value has cut your equity in half. The borrowing power that you’ve depended on to get you through last year’s drought is all but half. Maybe the farmer has a few employees, a kid doing summer fill in, and a couple foreign workers coming in, but the new applications and rules from Bill 6, never mind the added cost, is wearing on his mind. He’s got some feeder cattle, and even though the industry is saying we have to increase our herds, the processing plant is working at half capacity so selling could be a problem. Maybe he’s a farmer who got hit by last year’s drought and the length of time it take to rebound has been a strain. The news McDonald’s is kicking the sustainability program into high gear has the industry excited but the whole traceability program and the buy-in is a little concerning. Same goes for CETA and the EU rules and regulations for qualifying your beef stock – the farmer is just not sure the added expense and time is going to result in dollars. Maybe he’s a hog farmer on the Manitoba prairie and after clearing his farm of the PEDv threat, the CFIA has now gone ahead in doing away with the regulated wash bays. So now the farmer and the processors have to foot the bill. Our Scott Taylor wrote a piece on that in this issue and it’s worth a read. Even though meat export sales and futures reflect positive turnover with a lower dollar on the stock trading billboards, the reality is at some point that sale measured in U.S. dollars has to be converted to Canadian and what really ends up in the bank account and on the books is not as optimistic as it sounds. Maybe this is sounding more bleak than it should be but it is realistic to assume we are all living through this tough economic time and that walk to the barn could be just that longer when you know you’re losing money every day.

survey showed a decrease in the number of family farms since 2001. Yes, some were gobbled up by corporate farm entities but that seems to be at odds with itself when you consider the whole sustainability and hormone free meat producing push consumers demand. Add to that our farmers have endured fires, drought, BSE, PEDv, Avian flu, COOL, it’s been a haul for sure. But we need them, more than ever, we need them. Businesses fail every day and with it come layoffs but they eventually do find a way to recover. The point is very seldom does the company take a personal loss – that is left to the workers and executives who personally shoulder that crash. That is the nature of business, and by in large, the meat industry is big business. We are the best in the world, with the best promotion and infrastructure working to ensure we’re producing and exporting well into the future. Perhaps we need to take a step back from some of these trade policies and to take a moment and really consider that this all bottlenecks at the point where we need that farmer walking to the barn every day. If there is a metaphor to It’s a Wonderful Life, it is the big man crushing the little man just trying to get ahead. Sometimes our big business and politics can be a little too much Mr. Potter and not enough George Bailey. Think about it because farming is as close to home as it gets in Canada and losing the farm is as personal as it gets. Come to think of it, so is feeding the world.

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March/Aprily 2016 CANADIAN MEAT BUSINESS 9

WHERE’S THE BEEF? By Chuck Jolley

Clara should be asking that question today. And she should be asking it long and loud, because it has become a shrinking giant, no longer the undisputed heavyweight culinary champion. “The beef” as the primary center-of-the-plate item for all meals North American - Canadian as well as U.S. - ceded its place to chicken in the early 1990s. As per capita beef consumption in Canada dropped from 38.6 kg to 26.5 kg from 1980 to 2014, jumped from 16.8 kg of chicken to 30.9 kg. The more carnivorous Americans ate 21.5 kg pounds of chicken per capita in 1980 and upped the ante to 38.5 kg in 2014. Where did the beef go? It took a nose dive from 34.7 kg to 24.6 kg, losing almost a third of its share of belly. The reduced North American cattle herd, now at a point just slightly above the lows of the early 1950s, responded to the loss of market oddly. Even with that historically small herd, cattle ranchers are producing almost as much meat as they did in the heydays of the meat-eating Marlboro man when a steak, a shot and a cigarette were the norm. Sure, some of that still high production was consumed by growing populations on both sides of the border but most of us have been adamant in not needing or wanting more beef. Instead, we’ve taken that Sunday chicken dinner and transformed it into lunchtime chicken strips, breakfast biscuit sandwiches, and late night chicken and waffles. If Zane Grey were writing his tales of the old West today, the cowboy would have to be replaced with the chicken farmer. Fortunately for North American cattlemen, the worldwide beef markets are changing. The dinner plates that are demanding to be filled with more beef are increasingly located in Asia. A modern version of Clara would have to be looking in Beijing, Seoul, and Tokyo; not in suburban Ottawa or outside the Washington, D. C. Beltway. 10 CANADIAN MEAT BUSINESS March/April 2016

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The Trans-Pacific Partnership

Borror acknowledged the US. is still locked out of the Chinese market, a country not participating in the Partnership, anyway. Canada and all other major beef producing countries have access and China is Canada’s second largest market, behind the U.S. The key to expanding exports, though, is home market consumption. Borror said U.S. consumption might increase by half a pound this year as the herd continues to expand and outpace demand putting downward pressure on the price of a steak dinner. Canada’s expansion should easily outpace Canadian demand, too, putting a lot more North American beef on the trading table. A still shrinking Australian herd, stumbling badly under the same drought conditions that effect North America, will open some new doors throughout the Pacific basin.

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Trade Killers In spite of the opportunity, there are trade killers haunting the potential expansion of the Canadian cattle business. Meatingplace magazine, quoting an unnamed industry official, warned of an impending workplace problem for Canadian cattle. “Canadian meat processors will miss out on export opportunities under new trade pacts as a result of quotas on temporary foreign workers that are creating labor shortages in plants.”

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Canadian Meat Council official Ron Davidson also warned that an opportunity for Canadian cattlemen could be missed. In an interview with Farmscape.ca, he said, “The TransPacific Partnership and Canadian Europe trade agreement meatbusiness.ca

Continued on page 12

March/Aprily 2016 CANADIAN MEAT BUSINESS 11

DU: 01.05.2016

The No. 1 for the Meat Industry Frankfurt am Main, 7 – 12. 5. 2016

61935-035_IFFA_industrie_CanadianMeatBusiness_86x254 • CD-Rom • ISO 39 • CMYK • cp: 01.02.2016

“The real win for U.S. beef was Japan and, to a lesser degree, Viet Nam, she said. “With everyone else in the TPP, we already had free trade agreements.

Kanada

Erin Borror, U.S. Meat Export Federation economist, acknowledged the importance of those far eastern markets and the role the Trans Pacific Partnership will play in gaining market share. In the early days when the TPP was just a conversation between a few Asian countries, U.S. and Canadian interests ignored it. The turning point was “when Japan joined the TPP. The agreement all of a sudden became very interesting to the U.S.”

will open new export markets for value-added products from Canada, but plants are operating with as many as 200 empty positions.” The Canadian government plans to review the temporary foreign workers program, which limits foreign workers to 10 percent of a company’s work force in low-paying jobs, according to the Globe and Mail. Davidson stressed that the timing of the government’s review is important as the new trade agreements come into effect. Brenna Grant of Canfax did the numbers and said, “On January 1, 2016 Canadian beef cow inventories are projected to be steady to up 2% to 3.9 million head. An additional 500,000 head of beef cows could be added over the next 5-7 years at a rate of 70-100 thousand head or 2-2.5% per year. This is steady to slightly faster than what the U.S. market is expecting. Faster growth would be supported by a lower Canadian dollar keeping the price signal to producers strong and cushioning the decline in price as production increases. In addition, Canada has greater market access - direct to mainland China - compared to the U.S. which could prove to be advantageous as access through grey channels is unpredictable.”

12 CANADIAN MEAT BUSINESS March/April 2016

Although Grant sees expansion efforts slowing in 2018 as increased production pushes prices lower, “International demand in particular could take a significant portion of the additional production,” she said. As a distant early warning, though, she also cautioned, “As the Chinese Gross Domestic Product (GDP) slows, there are concerns about softer demand. However, all indications are that disposable income is expected to continue to grow and that is what will continue to drive beef demand within the country.” Here is her key to Canada’s delicate import/export balancing act: “Canadian retail beef demand in 2015 is the strongest since 1989. Moving into 2016 retail beef prices are expected to stabilize along with consumption leaving demand steady. The lowest exchange rate since 2004 will continue to support exports and discourage imports.” In other words, Asian markets want more beef. Domestic markets have probably reached a near saturation point. Horace Greeley’s 1851 admonition, “Go West, young man,” should be amended and expanded. Go farther west, all the way across the Pacific, and take advantage of the TPP’s soon-to-be-more-open marketplaces. Chuck Jolley is the President of Jolley & Associates and is a respected writer, editor, publisher and public relations expert with more than 25 years experience in the meat and poultry industry.

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March/Aprily 2016 CANADIAN MEAT BUSINESS 13

PEDV: WHY CAN’T THE CFIA CHANGE ONE REGULATION FOR THE GOOD OF THE COUNTRY? By Scott Taylor

Andrew Dickson gets it. He knows the Canadian Food Inspection Agency’s (CFIA) regulations do not cover Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea Virus (PEDv). However, he also doesn’t understand why the federal government can’t change its regulations and make PEDv a federally-regulated disease. Sadly, because the feds say they can’t, there is now a real fear that the devastating PEDv could end up in Western Canada. For Dickson, even though he gets it, he doesn’t. Andrew Dickson is the general manager of Manitoba Pork. He’s been in the industry for more than 40 years and he thought he’s seen just about everything a human being could see. And then the CFIA decided it was going to hand over biosecurity wash operations for hog transport to the United States. It’s a decision that could allow a disease -- Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea Virus (PEDv) -- that had been virtually kept out of Canada, to cross the border unabated. In fact, Dickson is convinced the regulations which will go into affect on May 1, 2016, might just invite PEDv onto Canadian farms. “The big issue (with the change in bio-security requirements) is that it probably will introduce the disease into Canada,” said Dickson. “PEDv is still rampant in the United States today. The last single case of PEDv in Manitoba was in January of 2015. Because of the current regulations with approved wash bays for trucks in Manitoba, we have kept it out of the country. 14 CANADIAN MEAT BUSINESS March/April 2016

But in the United States, it hasn’t gone away. U.S. farmers just don’t report cases anymore. The virus is still in slaughter yards and wash bays and if we don’t maintain the protocols we’ve had since 2014, it will end up in Canada. “The issue is simple. We send trucks down to the United States that have a piece of Manitoba in them. There is no disease in the trucks. If they go to farms, we know they have bio-security protocols, things like the triple plastic booties on their boots and so on. They will keep the trucks clear of the virus. But if they go to slaughter stations and wash bays, there are no such protocols. “At a wash bay in the United States there are are no protocols at all. Whether it’s Jimmy’s Wash Bay or Stan’s Wash Bay, you don’t know what you’re getting. They’ll say, ‘We clean with warm water.’ Great, for how long? Are you washing a truck for two minutes or three hours? We don’t know. There are no meatbusiness.ca

quality standards and no inspection. For all we know, they are introducing viral particles into the trucks at the wash station. “But because the federal government does not consider PEDv one of its federally regulated diseases. They have no interest in PEDv and their lawyers are telling them they have no jurisdiction over this disease so get out of it. Their interest is to focus of their regulated diseases like hoof and mouth and pseudo-rabies and the like. They don’t want any part of PEDv.” By dropping the current program, it essentially means that after all the work that’s been done to set the bio-security bar at a very

“ THE ISSUE IS SIMPLE. WE SEND TRUCKS DOWN TO THE UNITED STATES THAT HAVE A PIECE OF MANITOBA IN THEM. THERE IS NO DISEASE IN THE TRUCKS. IF THEY GO TO FARMS, WE KNOW THEY HAVE BIOSECURITY PROTOCOLS, THINGS LIKE THE TRIPLE PLASTIC BOOTIES ON THEIR BOOTS AND SO ON. THEY WILL KEEP THE TRUCKS CLEAR OF THE VIRUS. BUT IF THEY GO TO SLAUGHTER STATIONS AND WASH BAYS, THERE ARE NO SUCH PROTOCOLS.” high level following the PEDv outbreak last year, the CFIA has pushed through a mandate that will force Canadian livestock haulers to be cleaned and disinfected in the unregulated wash bays in the United States. The cost to ensure the bio-security protocol that has all but saved the pork industry in Canada on the heels PEDv, will be discontinued. However, Dickson says the pork producers have offered to pay the freight in order to continue the program. “That’s what I don’t get,” Dickson said. “We don’t understand the argument. We’ve offered to pay what’s required to continue with the current program but the CFIA’s lawyers keep telling them they have to get out because it’s not one of their regulated diseases. “OK, I get that, but what would it take to make it a federally regulated disease? And order in council? A couple of days, maybe? The Minster of Agriculture (Laurence MacAulay) was a dairy farmer in the Maritimes who did a bunch of other things in government and he doesn’t have a clue and certainly the Prime Minister has no idea about PEDv. But what worries me is if they can’t get a disease that’s devastating for our industry considered as a federally-regulated disease, then what can they do? If they can’t figure out how regulate diseases in the pork industry, I wonder if they can adequately regulate diseases that affect humans. I have a hard time believing that the federal minister of agriculture and the national veterinarian for Canada can’t deal with an exception to the rule. I mean if the manual’s wrong, change the manual.” Rick Bergmann, the Steinbach-based Vice-Chair of the East District of Manitoba Pork, met recently with the federal meatbusiness.ca

government and is still lobbying to maintain the protocol that began in 2014. However, he did admit in late March, that the CFIA is intent on moving forward with its new regulations. “There is still a challenge,” Bergmann said. “We met with the CFIA a couple of weeks ago and they seem entrenched in this decision.” According to the CFIA: “Livestock haulers returning empty from the United States (U.S.) or other countries that regulatory requirements apply under the Health of Animals Regulations, section 106. (5) and its subsections. “In February 2014, the CFIA, in consultation with the provinces, during the initial incursion of porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDv) into Canada, had allowed for a temporary emergency protocol for cleaning and disinfection of empty swine trucks to be undertaken in the province of Manitoba. The CFIA has reviewed the situation and has concluded that the outbreak of PEDv in Canada no longer merits an emergency response. Therefore, the temporary emergency protocol instituted in the province of Manitoba, during the initial phase of PEDv in Canada will be terminated and a temporary informed compliance period will be initiated. “If you are not returning directly from a United States Department of Agriculture Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) abattoir and your conveyance has not been properly cleaned and disinfected as per the regulatory requirements, you are in contravention of subsection 106 (5.1) of the Health of Animals Regulations which states that ‘No person shall bring from the United States a conveyance that has been used to transport poultry or porcines unless it has been cleaned and disinfected.’” Dickson had no quarrel with the regulations, he just can’t understand why the CFIA can’t look at the facts and make an exception. “Listen, PEDv can’t be controlled,” Dickson said. “You have to keep it out of Canada. And it only seriously affects baby pigs. Adult hogs and sows might get sick for a day, but it won’t hurt them. It kills baby pigs. It wiped out 50 per cent of the U.S. population of baby pigs. So why do we want to change a program that works?” It was suggested to Dickson that Canadian truckers just continue doing what they’re doing. Get the trucks washed in the United States in order to cross the border and then do it again at approved wash bays in Manitoba. “I have confidence that the responsible truckers will continue to do that,” said Dickson. “But that doesn’t mean everyone will and it doesn’t take much to introduce the virus to Canada. This is a protocol that needs to be enforced by the CFIA. We need the regulations changed. “I mean, I get it. I know the legal reasons for not continuing with the program. But the problem isn’t the program, it’s the regulations. It’s the manual and I just don’t understand why they can’t change the manual. “If I had a chance to talk to Mr. Trudeau on this issue, I’d be very clear: I’d tell him it’s 2016, eh?” March/Aprily 2016 CANADIAN MEAT BUSINESS 15

VACANT AG JOBS COSTS PRODUCERS $1.5 BILLION New figures released by the Canadian Agricultural Human Resource Council (CAHRC) illustrate the increasing challenges that labour constraints are having on Canada’s agriculture and agri-food sector. According to CAHRC, annual farm cash receipt losses to Canadian producers due to unfilled vacancies are $1.5 billion, or 3% of the industry’s total value in sales and production. This finding is part of new Labour Market Information (LMI) research, which was released during the ‘Growing the AgriWorkforce Summit’ in Winnipeg. These losses reflect a myriad of missed opportunities for producers, resulting from delayed and increased lost production, added costs, or forced changes in plans to expand or upgrade facilities. The LMI research also revealed that primary agriculture still has the highest industry job vacancy rate of any industry at 7%. The research was based on 2014 figures. The Canadian Federation of Agriculture (CFA) recognizes the urgent need to find solutions for agricultural labour constraints and has worked with CAHRC on this project since its inception. “These new findings from CAHRC clearly highlight the need for a long-term strategy that will address the challenges Canadian producers are facing due to labour issues,” says CFA President Ron Bonnett. “The CFA thanks CAHRC for

undertaking this important research and will be reviewing the information extensively to determine the appropriate next steps for establishing collaborative solutions between industry and government.” The current gap between labour demand and the domestic workforce is 59,000 and projections indicate that by 2025, the Canadian agri-workforce could be short workers for 114,000 jobs. In response, industry efforts have been encouraging young people and workers from other sectors to get into agriculture as a career. Despite extensive efforts gaps still exist and there still will be a large void in the future. “The situation is critical now and will only get worse unless it is effectively addressed,” explains Portia MacDonaldDewhirst, CAHRC Executive Director. CAHRC’s research indicates that while agriculture labour shortage is critical today, it will be even more so 10 years from now, with dire consequences for business viability, industry sustainability and future growth. This has the potential to affect food security for Canadian consumers, as well as export potential for Canada’s entire agri-food industry. Furthermore, given that the agri-food sector contributes nearly $107 billion annually to the country’s gross domestic product and provides one in eight Canadian jobs, the troubling trends identified in CAHRC’s research are not limited to just agriculture, and could have significant implications throughout the Canadian economy. The LMI research was derived from surveys, interviews and focus groups conducted with 1,034 representatives of Canadian agricultural organizations, employees, and employers - 813 of whom were primary producers. More information on this research can be found at www.cahrc-ccrha.ca. The LMI research was funded by the Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) Sectoral Initiatives Program.

16 CANADIAN MEAT BUSINESS March/April 2016

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At Your Fingertips:

HOW OTTAWA CAN SHED A FEW POUNDS AND AVOID BECOMING BADLY OUT OF SHAPE FROM MOUNTING DEFICITS?

Small biz support & counseling

Cost-saving partnerships & programs

Lobbying & Research

By Dan Kelly, President & CEO, CFIB Diets are no fun. I know this from first-hand experience. I’ve been on a strict one for the past two months and am pleased to report that there is now 10 per cent less of me (I’m sure many politicians would be very pleased to have 10 per cent less of me). This uber-low carb diet does not reconcile well with my Irish/Ukrainian ancestry (farewell to my beloved potato), but it has reminded me of some important lessons. I realize now how skilled I’ve become at rationalizing all my bad food choices: Going on a long flight means I must eat at the airport, a tough meeting means I deserve a chocolate bar, dinner alone at the hotel means I need a dessert too, racing my son to his soccer game requires a drive-through order.

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Continued on page 18

Join Today! www.cfib.ca/agri March/Aprily 2016 CANADIAN MEAT BUSINESS 17

In that moment, the justification seems entirely reasonable. Sometimes bad choices seem almost impossible to avoid. But they always catch up with you. This lesson is just as applicable to budget-making. What starts out as a commitment to three deficits no greater than $10 billion can quickly become $18 billion. A few months from now, the $18 billion can easily become $25 billion to $30 billion. A commitment to ending deficits by 2019 or staying under a certain debt-to-GDP ratio can also be tossed aside. Deficits are a lot like potato chips. It’s hard to stop once you get going, and it’s a lot more fun consuming them than it is working them off. But Canada’s small business owners know that today’s deficits are tomorrow’s taxes. And while there may be no shortage of worthwhile causes deserving public support, saying ‘yes’ to too many priorities can force a fiscal diet in a few years that is very tough. With my new diet regime on my mind, here are some budget recommendations from small business owners to help the economy get back into shape. First, the government can inject some lean protein into its economic diet. I was pleased to see during last fall’s federal election that all parties support lowering the Small Business Tax Rate (SBTR) to nine per cent from 11. We are very pleased that our new government has already dropped the rate to 10.5 per cent. This lower rate helps small firms offset the disproportionate impact of regulatory and compliance costs they face. In a difficult economy, government could help stimulate growth and risk-taking in the small business sector by implementing the reduction at a faster pace, accelerating the two per cent cut over two years, rather than the planned four. Mental health is just as important as physical, and federal and provincial governments could also go a long way towards reducing the stress on small businesses by backing away from any increase to the Canada Pension Plan/Quebec Pension Plan (CPP/QPP) or the even more destructive Ontario Retirement Pension Plan (ORPP). Given the current state of the economy, now is not the time to saddle the country’s biggest job creators with a payroll tax hike that will force twothirds of them to freeze or cut salaries and more than onethird to cut staff, to say nothing of the one-third of working Canadians who say they will have to reduce spending on essentials like rent and food. There are plenty of opportunities for the government to be active and some blood flowing throughout the economy. Employment Insurance (EI) is an area of concern. I was pleased to hear the government will make it easier for businesses to tap into the next generation of employees by allowing an EI holiday for employers hiring young workers. While EI rates for big businesses and employees are still expected to fall by a more modest amount in 2017, most small firms will effectively see their EI premiums rise next year when the Small Business Job Credit (SBJC) expires. We suggest the government maintain the SBJC beyond 2016, or alternatively, implement a permanent lower EI rate 18 CANADIAN MEAT BUSINESS March/April 2016

for small businesses that will help them retain and train their employees and grow their business. The federal government can also find pounds to shed among the reams of red tape and regulation that burden business owners. We’d like to see the government set a 20 per cent red-tape reduction target from its baseline count in the next three years, in addition to ensuring that the Small Business Consultation forum with the Canadian Revenue Agency moves forward. Ultimately, like with any diet, it comes down to restraint. At some point we just need to get down to it and trim the fat. Federal public sector wages, benefits and pensions remain dramatically more generous than similar occupations in the private sector. A federal employee makes 33.2 per cent more in salaries and benefits (13 per cent in salaries alone) than someone doing the same job in the private sector. As an example, it may surprise you to know that most civil servants retiring before 65 are immune from the reduction in CPP benefits that hits us ordinary Joes. It is time to end this $8,000 a year advantage. With the right combination of an early spending diet and some exercise to get our economic engines revving, our country can avoid becoming badly out of shape. Hoping the budget on March 22nd gets this balance right. Dan Kelly is President of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB). Follow Dan on Twitter @CFIB and learn more about CFIB at www.cfib.ca. Established in 1971, CFIB is Canada’s largest association of small- and mediumsized businesses. CFIB takes direction from more than 109,000 members (including 7,200 agri-business owners) in every sector nationwide, giving independent business a strong and influential voice at all levels of government and helping to grow the economy.

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ONTARIO PORK USHERS CHANGE WITH NEW SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY REPORT With the release of its inaugural Social Responsibility Report, Ontario Pork has taken an important step in addressing the growing expectations of consumers, retailers and policymakers in areas that measure economic, environmental, social and governance performance. “We are proud to be the first livestock group in the province to commit to setting benchmarks that will allow us to monitor the improvements of the sector over time,” said Amy Cronin, Chair of Ontario Pork. “There is great appetite from a wide range of audiences to learn more about what we do and we needed to tell the stories that shape our industry in a way that was meaningful and transparent. Our members have embraced this process and they are invested in leaving a positive legacy for future generations.” Based on internationally recognized methodologies and standards, including the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations’ Sustainability Assessment of Food and Agriculture systems (SAFA) guidelines, the social responsibility approach of Ontario Pork is based on six dimensions: •

Farm Management

•

Economic Performance

•

Environmental Stewardship

•

Animal Care and Food Safety

•

Relationships with the Community

•

Workers’ Well-Being

As a major contributor to the province’s economic growth, Ontario Pork is engaging the entire sector in its social responsibility journey through a set of commitments to be achieved over the next three years. The organization is focused on bringing greater awareness about social responsibility through teaching tools and training resources, while consistently assessing new trends and best practices. To view the full report and get more details about the data and methodology, visit www.ontariopork.on.ca

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March/Aprily 2016 CANADIAN MEAT BUSINESS 19

MODULES FOR THE SMART MEAT FACTORY The term Industry 4.0 has reached the meat industry. At the IFFA 2016, the CSB group of companies presents software, image processing and automation solutions for the production work of the future. With the motto “Global IT Excellence for the Smart Meat

The software, image processing and automation solutions

Factory”, the industry expert will be represented at stand

by CSB successfully manage this digital transformation.

B-81 in hall 11.1. Sarah Vanessa Kröner, member of the

The ERP system, which will also be available from the

board of directors of CSB-System AG, explains: “The

cloud, takes over a key function. Being a data management

international meat industry is eagerly awaiting the IFFA 2016

system, it not only administrates master data and

with its focus on ideas, concepts and trends for the years to

transaction data, but also product data, machine data and

come. We will show concrete step-by-step approaches for

process data without any redundancies. This facilitates the

establishing the Smart Meat Factory.”

consistent use of the data in all applications throughout

A quick glance at the vision of networked production: While today industrial systems are still controlled from one central point, the future will see intelligent manufacturing systems with communication between machines, equipment and products.

20 CANADIAN MEAT BUSINESS March/April 2016

the entire order processing flow, for example in customer relationship management, production planning, picking or business intelligence. It is mainly the integration of ERP system and manufacturing execution system that smooths the transition towards the independent production facility. It establishes the connection between business management meatbusiness.ca

and production control and simplifies machine-to-machine networking. “Even in the age of the Smart Meat Factory will the ERP system continue to be the IT backbone of the enterprise”, says Kröner. Fully automated image processing systems, as demonstrated at the CSB stand D-70 in hall 11.1, are also key components in the context of Industry 4.0. The CSB-Vision product line has been developed to optimize the use of raw materials. In the meat industry, this is critical to success due to the fact that here, the costs for input material are much higher than in most other sectors. Moreover, using fully automated analysis and valuation methods improves the quality of the final products and increases the added value. One example for the new possibilities of computer-aided image processing is the visual and perfectly hygienic grading of pig carcasses with a completely automated classification process. Any pertinent data are directly documented in the

CSB linecontrol optimally links production and packaging

CSB ERP software. The ground-breaking methods also

machines in the sense of Industry 4.0. With the control

comprise the entirely automatic identification, sorting and

station module, you can monitor the machines and facilities

routing of items by means of image analysis, for example

in use from beginning to end and ensure optimal utilization

at the cutting exit or at the entry of meat production as well

of the capacities. This in turn minimizes production stops

as for the quality assessment of raw materials. While tests

and downtimes. As a result, the equipment effectiveness

performed by humans are prone to errors, this solution

remains at a constantly high level, as is demonstrated at the

guarantees constant and consistent quality measurements.

IFFA stand of the Robotik-Pack-Line.

CSB’s third key topic at this year’s IFFA relates to integrated automation solutions for production and intralogistics. The focus is on solutions with a high level of integration and automation - from innovative storage systems via flexible, fully automatic picking on limited space up to controlling high-performance machine and system environments.

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March/Aprily 2016 CANADIAN MEAT BUSINESS 21

BATTER UP TO AN UNTAPPED MEAT MARKET By Ronnie P. Cons

In the January/February issue we discussed how the grocery meat departments can leverage the Canadian hockey season to generate higher meat and poultry sales during the winter months. As spring is now upon us, meat department managers should be asking themselves, “Can the upcoming baseball season be leveraged and tapped into to drive meat and poultry sales?” The short and resounding answer is yes! A brief analysis shows a large untapped meat and poultry market among the very popular nationwide little league baseball system. First a few facts: •

Canadian little league baseball is played by thousands of teams that are part of hundreds of leagues located across Canada.

•

Player’s ages run from 4-18 years old the majority

22 CANADIAN MEAT BUSINESS March/April 2016

of whom are male. •

Each league has tryouts during early spring time when they choose the teams.

•

Games are then played until the end of summer.

•

These games are often watched by hundreds of excited fans including the parents and siblings of players.

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Here are some matches and cultural links between the sport of baseball and meat and poultry that will provide the basis for developing the strategy to leverage this market: 1.

As little league baseball is mostly played by boys aged 4-18 years old, they are generally big meat lovers.

Professional baseball stadiums sell lots of hotdogs and hamburgers thus making baseball synonymous with meat at the cultural level.

Meat has plenty of nutritional resources (iron, protein, calories) necessary to play an active game of baseball.

Coaches of local teams are looking for ways to motivate their players to play their best and often use food as a motivator.

Little league baseball is an important father/mother - son bonding moment and makes up a significant part of their conversations during the spring and summer months (especially during meal times).

Fans generally like to eat while watching a professional or amateur baseball game. This especially applies to the siblings of the players that often come along with the parents.

Many of the little league ballparks do not serve freshly cooked meat dishes.

With this information at hand, we can recommend that meat departments employ the below strategies: •

They should setup a mobile canteen that will go to the local games offering on the spot freshly cooked hotdogs, hamburgers and other meat products to the watching spectators. The canteen should have baseball themed graphics and posters to give that big baseball stadium feeling. The menu can have baseball themed offerings such as; “Home Run Hamburger Special” and “Triple Play Hotdog Combo”.

•

The above mobile canteen should be used to recruit new customers that will hopefully then shop at the regular meat department. One way to do this is to give out discount vouchers for meat products. The voucher will describe the discount as well as explaining the benefits of meat to help their kids be nutritionally prepared to play baseball. The voucher can offer specials on baseball themed specially designed boxed offerings of meat. As such the client can continue bonding with his child at home through baseball themed meals.

•

In the case that there already exists a snack shop at the ball park and it is not possible to bring a mobile canteen there, the meat department should try to become the supplier of the snack shop by delivering to them hot and freshly prepared baseball themed meat meals boxed as described above.

•

Sponsorships of local leagues or teams or a percentage of canteen sales to be given to the league will motivate the team managers to promote the canteen to the parents and spectators. As a sponsor it will then be easier to promote their meat products to the managers as a nutritional and fun way to motivate their teams to play their best.

So knock meat sales out of the stadium this spring and summer by leveraging little league baseball!

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March/Aprily 2016 CANADIAN MEAT BUSINESS 23

SAFE FOOD CANADA RELEASES EXPLORATORY STUDY Food Safety Training by Canadian Food Companies Safe Food Canada (SFC) has announced the findings of its first research project, which provides practical insights into the current state of food safety culture in Canada. This exploratory study is the first of its kind into the level of spending on food safety training and education for food industry professionals. SFC has a mandate to modernize the way food professionals in Canada learn about food safety and protection. The company conducts research as one of its four areas of business. The study explored how food businesses invest in food safety training. Factors of interest included actual spending by companies on food safety training, employee job satisfaction, and changes to employee competence and performance. SFC President and CEO, Mr. Brian Sterling, notes that “Safe Food Canada is primarily focused on ensuring that food employees are trained using competency-based, consistent learning frameworks. This exploratory study points out that SFC can help food organizations by providing valuable information so they can assess the relative payback they get for their investments in training. This sentiment is highly supported by other strong players in the industry, who recognize the value that Safe Food Canada will bring to strengthening Canada’s reputation as a trusted source of food.” Amongst the study’s most relevant findings include: •

Training for general employees typically is done onsite, with 65% of companies declaring that this further complemented by annual external training sessions.

24 CANADIAN MEAT BUSINESS March/April 2016

•

While the current state of food safety training itself is seen as acceptable, there is room for improvement on how to measure the change in performance and financial return on investments from training.

•

Only half of the companies surveyed keep track of their expenditures on food safety training, while 35% either do not keep a record or do not separate food safety expenses from other training costs.

•

The majority of participants, said they train from 80%100% of frontline employees. These people all receive some type of food safety training annually, varying from classroom education to hands-on training.

•

Maple Leaf Foods is a leading sponsor of Safe Food Canada and serves on the company’s Board of Directors with other food businesses and academic organizations.

“Food safety should never be viewed as a competitive advantage,” says Maple Leaf Foods Chief Food Safety Officer and SVP, Operations, Randall Huffman. “We are strong supporters of Safe Food Canada and its mission to elevate food safety learning and benchmarking across our industry.” The exploratory study by SFC is a first important step towards the goal of modernizing how people learn about food safety. The report recommends that SFC undertake a more thorough benchmark study so that individual food businesses can better understand how their investment in food safety training compares with industry norms and best practices. For more information, visit safefoodcanada.com

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Worker Safety, Labor and Employment Conference

Meat Industry Management Conference

April 4-5, 2016

April 5-7, 2016

Hotel Details: Intercontinental Chicago

More Program Details Available for BOTH Events

Magniﬁcent Mile 505 North Michigan Ave

Two Great Conferences in One Location April 4-7, 2016

Chicago , IL 60611 312-944-4100

Make plans now to be in Chicago the ﬁrst week of April to attend one or both Meat Institute signature events, which are being co-located for the ﬁrst time!

Hotel Deadline:

Check out the conference brochure, as well as the detailed agenda, both available now on the Meat Institute website, for more information on conference sessions and speakers. Featured General Sessions for the Worker Safety, Labor and Employment Conference:

Early Registration Deadline: March 11, 2016

- Deﬁning Safety: Roles and Responsiblities Bob LoMastro, President, LoMastro & Associates, Inc. -Addressing Prescription Drug Abuse in the Workplace Don Teater, Medical Advisor, Prescription Drug Overdoes Initiatives, National Safety Council -Worker’s Compensation Claims Management: A Meat Packer’s Perspective Randy Seay, Director of Claims Management, Smithﬁeld Foods Featured General Sessions for the Meat Industry Management Conference: -Evolving the Supply Chain in a Customer Obsessed Culture Justin Ransom, Ph.D., Sr. Director, Quality Systems, U.S. SCM, McDonald’s USA, LLC -Navigating the Economics of the Red Meat Industry Beyond 2015 John Nalivka, President, Sterling Marketing, Inc. -USDA-AMS: Administrator’s Message Elanor Starmer, Adminstrator, Agricultural Marketing Service, USDA Register Today!

March 11, 2016

F O U N D AT I O N F O R M E AT P O U LT R Y RESEARCH E D U C AT I O N

For more information on education and programming contact Ann Wells: 202-587-4252 awells@meatinstitute.org For more information on housing and registration contact Robin Troy: 202-587-4242 rtroy@meatinstitute.org For more information on sponsorship contact Jim Goldberg: 202-587-4206 jgoldberg@meatinstitute.org

North American Meat Institute | 1150 Connecticut Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20036 | 202.587.4200

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March/Aprily 2016 CANADIAN MEAT BUSINESS 25

NSF-GFTC ANNOUNCES 2016 AWARD WINNERS NSF-GFTC, part of NSF International’s Global Food Division, has announced the winners of its 2016 Food Safety Recognition Awards. The awards were presented at the Canadian Food Safety Forum, which was hosted by NSF-GFTC at the Pearson Convention Centre in Brampton, Ontario. NSF-GFTC established the awards program to recognize Canadian food and beverage companies, and individuals, who are helping to advance food safety and quality. The submissions were diverse, country-wide and represented various areas within the food industry. To select the winners in each of the three categories, NSF-GFTC assembled a diverse group of food and beverage industry leaders. Winners of the 2016 NSF GFTC Canada Food Safety Recognition Awards are: Food Safety Leadership Award

Tom Graham, Director, National Inspection Division, Operations Policy & Systems Directorate, Operations Branch, Canadian Food Inspection Agency, Ottawa, Ontario

Food Safety Excellence Award

Malabar Super Spice, Burlington, Ontario

Allied Trades Food Safety Award

Abell Pest Control, Canada-wide

26 CANADIAN MEAT BUSINESS March/April 2016

The finalists (runners up) in the awards are: Food Safety Excellence Award

E.D. Smith, Winona, Ontario

Allied Trades Food Safety Award

Holland Marsh Growers’ Bradford, Ontario

Association,

“There are many food safety success stories in Canada and our awards are a mechanism to share and celebrate those successes. The safety and quality of the global food supply is important. This is why NSF International recognizes these leaders and companies who are in the forefront of innovation and continuous improvement, excellent food safety performance, and for embracing a food safety culture,” said Paul Medeiros, Managing Director, Consulting and Technical Services at NSF-GFTC. To learn more, visit http://www.gftc.ca/food-safety-consulting-services/foodsafety-recognition-winners.aspx

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Remco and The Yes Group Protecting your Customers

Remco products are colour-coded to help divide the production cycle into different zones. By identifying these zones as different cleaning areas, the movement of bacteria around the production area can be blocked. Our products were developed with the Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) in mind. No matter what colour-coding plan is implemented, Remco Products from The Yes Group provides significant added value at no additional cost. From scoops to squeegees, from brushes to shovels, we have the products and the colours to enhance any professional quality assurance program.

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March/Aprily 2016 CANADIAN MEAT BUSINESS 27

g kin UR! c sto ™ P w t No plas e Sa

Hold it…

UniPac now stocks Promens Saeplast™ PUR containers, buggies and pallets for all your food transportation and storage needs. Our Promens Saeplast™ PUR containers, are made with high quality polyethylene resin and are North American Food Grade Approved. That means they are food safe, easy to wash and durable — a winning combination for all your food storage and handling needs.

Our commitment to the food industry shows. Call UniPac today and speak to one of our knowledgeable sales and customer service representatives. Learn more about about our selection of Promens Saeplast™ PUR containers.

Our buggies and pallets provide more lightweight, long-lasting options.

Serving our customers Canada-wide: 1-800-661-3860 • email: sales@unipac.ca • www.unipac.ca 28 CANADIAN MEAT BUSINESS March/April 2016

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