Our July issue by Meat Business Pro

THE BEEF, PORK & POULTRY INDUSTRY DIGITAL MAGAZINE

July 2022

HEALTH CANADA PROVIDES EXEMPTION IN FINAL FRONTOF-PACKAGE LABELLING REGULATIONS FOR GROUND OECD-FAO Agricultural Outlook 2022-2031 Government Launches Consultations for National Agricultural Labour Strategy CMC Appoints First-Ever Woman as Chair The Top 3 Common Payroll Mistakes Managers Make Northfork Bison Celebrates 25th Anniversary Renewing the Fight on Improving Internal Trade

meatbusinesspro.com

$7.99

https://www.yesgroup.ca 2

MEATBUSINESSPRO July 2022

meatbusinesspro.com

July 2022

5 6 8 12

BCRC Rolls out New Digital Platform

Canadian Meat Industry Statement: Health Canada’s Provides Exemption in Final Frontof-Package Labelling Regulations for Ground Meats OECD-FAO Agricultural Outlook 2022-2031

Government Launches Consultations for National Agricultural Labour Strategy

14 16 18 22

CMC Appoints First-Ever Woman as Chair of the Board of Directors

The Top 3 Common Payroll Mistakes Managers Make

Northfork Bison Celebrates 25th Anniversary

Renewing the Fight on Improving Internal Trade

https://www.reiser.com

MEATBUSINESSPRO July 2022

meatbusinesspro.com

THE BEEF, PORK & POULTRY INDUSTRY DIGITAL MAGAZINE

July 2022 Volume 26 Number 7 PUBLISHER Ray Blumenfeld ray@meatbusiness.ca MANAGING EDITOR Scott Taylor publishing@meatbusiness.ca DIGITAL MEDIA EDITOR Cam Patterson cam@meatbusiness.ca CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Cam Patterson, Scott Taylor, Jack Roberts, Taylor Brown CREATIVE DIRECTOR Patrick Cairns

Meat Business Pro is published 12 times a year by We Communications West Inc.

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.meatbusinesspro.com Meat Business Pro subscriptions are available for $28.00/year or $46.00/two years and includes the annual Buyers Guide issue. ©2020 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

BCRC ROLLS OUT NEW DIGITAL PLATFORM The Beef Cattle Research Council (BCRC) has rolled out a revitalized web design offering more easy-to-find content and practical tools for Canada’s beef producers, veterinary teams, researchers and other stakeholders at BeefResearch.ca For almost a decade, the BCRC has delivered science-based industry resources through BeefResearch.ca. In the last year alone, nearly 300,000 individuals consulted the BCRC website for timely and practical beef and forage information. To drive Canada’s beef research and extension efforts most effectively and economically in the future, the BCRC needed an online vehicle that was faster, better organized and more intuitive for our expanding audience. With the new BeefResearch.ca, you will find everything you came to expect on their former site: • Timely articles, • Production tools and calculators, • Research summaries and fact sheets, • Videos and other useful resources for Canadian beef industry stakeholders. One of the most significant upgrades to BeefResearch.ca is a greatly improved mobile experience. You can enjoy optimal display from any device. The restructured site will help make Canada’s beef and forage research even more accessible and relevant. The new site also features a more robust search function. Enter any beef or forage topic in the upper-right search bar and find out why BeefResearch.ca has been referred to as the search engine for Canadian beef production. Through the reorganized navigation areas, you will find three user-targeted entry points: • For Producers: where farmers and ranchers can find beef and forage topic pages, research summaries and fact sheets by subject area • For Researchers: where agricultural researchers can access BCRC’s research priorities, strategies and calls for proposals, plus information on its researcher award and mentorship programs • For Veterinary Teams: where veterinarians and registered vet technicians can find tools, resources and continuing education credit opportunities

For more information, visit https://www.beefresearch.ca/blog/newbeefresearch-ca/ meatbusinesspro.com

July 2022 MEATBUSINESSPRO

CANADIAN MEAT INDUSTRY STATEMENT: HEALTH CANADA PROVIDES EXEMPTION IN FINAL FRONT-OF-PACKAGE LABELLING REGULATIONS FOR GROUND MEATS On June 30, 2022, the Honourable Jean-Yves Duclos, Minister of Health announced the finalized Front-ofPackage labelling regulations, part of the Government of Canada’s Healthy Eating Strategy. In the finalized regulations, ground beef and pork are exempt from the requirement of having a front-of-package warning label. We are pleased that the Government of Canada listened to our sector’s concerns and reversed the policy proposal on ground beef and pork–nutrientdense, affordable proteins. Thank you to all beef and pork producers and consumers across the country for raising the issue with elected representatives. “Canadian families rely on ground beef as a nutritious and affordable food staple and an important contributor to food security. We are pleased with Health Canada’s decision to omit ground beef from requiring a misleading warning label,” stated Reg Schellenberg, President of the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association.

Chris White, President & CEO, Canadian Meat Council, said, “CMC is pleased that Health Canada is exempting ground meat like most other countries. This exemption will ensure that our members can continue to export their products without additional challenges, allowing us to keep feeding the world and Canadians with our world-class protein.” Almost 50% of beef consumed in Canada is ground beef and more than 90% of Canadians consume ground beef on a weekly basis. Ground beef is one of the most popular and trusted sources of protein and an incredibly important source of revenue for the beef industry. The finalized regulations demonstrate a recognition of what consumers, farmers and ranchers know well, beef and pork are wholesome sources of high-quality protein that are important staples in Canadians’ diet.

MEATBUSINESSPRO July 2022

meatbusinesspro.com

We thank the Government of Canada, including the Prime Minister, Minister Duclos and Minister Bibeau for recognizing the nutrient value of ground beef and pork, and for listening to our concerns. To the many leaders who advocated on our behalf both publicly and with colleagues, thank you for your tireless efforts— notably John Barlow, Conservative Agriculture Critic; Yves Perron, Bloc Quebecois Agriculture Critic; Francis Drouin, Parliamentary Secretary to Agriculture and AgriFood; Kody Blois, MP and AGRI Chair; and Senators Rob Black, Don Plett, and Paula Simons.

“We’re pleased Health Canada is exempting ground pork along with other nutritious foods such as milk, eggs, vegetables, and fruit from a front-of-package label. Ground pork is a convenient, whole food that contributes essential nutrients many Canadians need more of in their diets,” stated Rick Bergmann, Chair of the Canadian Pork Council. As the Canadian Meat Council (CMC) celebrated its recent 100th anniversary and conference in Ottawa; the occasion was also marked by appointing Kerry Towle as Chair of the Board of Directors for the next two years.

James Bekkering, Board Chair of the National Cattle Feeders’ Association, said, “Canada’s cattle feeders take great pride in producing high quality, nutritious beef using sustainable practices. We appreciate the Government of Canada recognizing ground beef and pork as a healthy part of the Canadian diet.”

meatbusinesspro.com

July 2022 MEATBUSINESSPRO

OECD-FAO AGRICULTURAL OUTLOOK 2022-31 According to a report released by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the global agrifood sector faces fundamental challenges over the coming decade, particularly the need to feed an ever-increasing population in a sustainable manner, the impacts of the climate crisis and the economic consequences and disruptions to food supply linked to the war in Ukraine. The OECD-FAO Agricultural Outlook 2022-2031 focuses on assessing the medium-term prospects for agricultural commodity markets. The findings of the report underscore the crucial role of additional public spending and private investment in production, information technology and infrastructure as well as human capital to raise agricultural productivity.

MEATBUSINESSPRO July 2022

Prices of agricultural products have been driven upward by a host of factors, including the recovery in demand following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting supply and trade disruptions, poor weather in key suppliers, and rising production and transportation costs, which have been further exacerbated recently by uncertainties regarding agricultural exports from Ukraine and Russia, both key suppliers of cereals. Russia's role in fertilizer markets has also compounded already existing concerns about fertilizer prices and near-term productivity. The report provides a short-term assessment of how the war may affect both global agricultural markets and food security. It underlines major risks to key commodity markets: equilibrium prices for wheat could be 19% above pre-conflict levels if Ukraine fully loses its capacity to export and 34% higher if in addition Russian exports are 50% of normal amounts.

meatbusinesspro.com

the world’s poorest,” OECD Secretary-General Mathias Cormann said. "An immediate end of the war would be the best outcome for people in both Russia and Ukraine and for the many households around the world that are suffering from sharp price increases driven by the war.” “These rising prices of food, fertilizer, feed and fuel, as well as tightening financial conditions are spreading human suffering across the world,” said FAO DirectorGeneral QU Dongyu. “An estimated 19 million more people could face chronic undernourishment globally in 2023, if the reduction of global food production and food supply from major exporting countries, including Russia and Ukraine, results in lower food availability hitting worldwide.” A scenario simulating a severe export shortfall from Ukraine and Russia in 2022/23 and 2023/24, and assuming no global production response, suggests a further increase in the number of chronically undernourished people in the world following the COVID-19 pandemic. "Without peace in Ukraine, food security challenges facing the world will continue to worsen, especially for

While addressing the immediate problems, the global community should not lose sight of the need to work towards achieving the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). According to the report, global food consumption, which is the main use of agricultural commodities, is projected to increase by 1.4% annually over the next decade, and to be mainly driven by population growth. Continued on page 10 Continued on page 10

VEMAG

REPLACEMENT PARTS

meatbusinesspro.com

https://www.dhenryandsons.com

July 2022 MEATBUSINESSPRO

The report provides an assessment of how potentially competing objectives of the agricultural sector can be achieved. Average agricultural productivity must increase by 28% over the next decade for the world to meet the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG 2) on Zero Hunger, while simultaneously keeping agricultural emissions on track to reach the Paris Agreement targets. This is more than triple the increase in productivity recorded in the last decade. Ensuring well-functioning global trade and markets is essential for addressing both short- and medium-term challenges to food security. Globally, trade in the main agricultural commodities and processed products is projected to grow in line with production over the next decade. However, some regions are expected to export a growing share of their domestic production, while others are foreseen to import a growing share of their total consumption. This increasing interdependency between trading partners underscores the critical importance of a transparent, predictable and rulesbased multilateral trading system.

Over the next decade, global agricultural production is projected to increase by 1.1% per year, with the additional output to be mainly produced in middle- and low-income countries. The report assumes a wider access to inputs and shows that increased productivityenhancing investment in technology, infrastructure and training will be critical drivers of agricultural growth. However, a prolonged increase in energy and agricultural input prices, such as fertilizers, will raise production costs and may constrain productivity and output growth in the coming years. For more information, visit https://www.agri-outlook.org/ 10

MEATBUSINESSPRO July 2022

meatbusinesspro.com

https://www.beaconmetals.com

meatbusinesspro.com

July 2022 MEATBUSINESSPRO

GOVERNMENT LAUNCHES CONSULTATIONS FOR NATIONAL AGRICULTURAL LABOUR STRATEGY Canada's agriculture and agri-food sector is an important engine of economic growth that feeds millions of people in Canada and around the world. It is also part of the country's critical infrastructure, essential to the health and well-being of all Canadians. The Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, the Honourable Marie-Claude Bibeau, recently launched consultations to solicit input and inform a National Agricultural Labour Strategy.

The agriculture and agri-food sector face obstacles that distinguish it from other economic sectors currently facing labour shortages. As part of the engagement process, an online consultation will run from June 27, 2022 until September 28, 2022. This process will seek input on recommendations to address chronic workforce challenges to build short- and long-term solutions that enable the agriculture sector to attract a skilled workforce. Provinces and territories, as well as employers, unions, underrepresented groups, workers, and other key groups will be engaged to develop the strategy and ensure it reflects the unique needs of the sector.

MEATBUSINESSPRO July 2022

"As everyone is looking to Canada to increase its contribution to global food security, our agriculture and agri-food sector is facing a severe labour shortage that prevents it from reaching its full potential. I encourage all stakeholders to take part in these consultations, through which our government wishes to foster the significant engagement of the industry and ensure that together we put in place effective and sustainable solutions,” stated Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau. A number of areas of focus have been identified, including the use of automation and technology, targeted skills development and training, employment incentives and best practices, improved working conditions and benefits; and programs to recruit and retain workers.

meatbusinesspro.com

QUICK FACTS • Canada's food system is resilient and innovative, sustains our environment and supports our economy. In 2020, the whole agriculture and agri-food system: o employed 2.1 million people o provided 1 in 9 jobs in Canada Mary Robinson, President of Canadian Federation of Agriculture, said, "We at CFA are excited for the launch of these consultations, as they will be coordinating closely with the CAHRC National Agriculture, Food and Beverage Manufacturing Workforce strategy cochaired by CFA and Food and Beverage Canada. These consultations, along with the development of our Workforce Strategy will create pragmatic solutions for short and long-term labour issues in the food supply chain." The sector is already demonstrating leadership in tackling these challenges, through initiatives such as the Canadian Agriculture Human Resource Council-led development of a National Workforce Strategic Plan for Agriculture and Food and Beverage Manufacturing. The Government of Canada's National Agricultural Labour Strategy is intended to complement these efforts and utilize input directly from industry to achieve solutions.

o in 2021, the sector generated $135 billion of Canada's gross domestic product (GDP) • In April, the Government of Canada announced further changes to the Temporary Foreign Workers Program to address labour shortages across Canada. • In Canada, temporary foreign workers represented around one-quarter of all agriculture workers in 2021. In the food and beverage manufacturing sector, temporary foreign workers represented about onetenth of the total number of employees.

"CAHRC is pleased for the launch of these timely consultations on a sector-specific Agricultural Labour Strategy. We look forward to working closely and collaboratively with AAFC and our partners CFA and Food and Beverage Canada on our complimentary initiatives that will go a long way towards finding long-term solutions for a robust, skilled workforce,” stated Paul Glenn, Chair, Canadian Agricultural Human Resource Council

https://www.yesgroup.ca meatbusinesspro.com

July 2022 MEATBUSINESSPRO

CMC APPOINTS FIRST-EVER WOMAN AS CHAIR OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS As the Canadian Meat Council (CMC) celebrated its recent 100th anniversary and conference in Ottawa; the occasion was also marked by appointing Kerry Towle as Chair of the Board of Directors for the next two years.

the University of Fredericton and formerly owned Towle’s Poultry, a company that produced 150,000 kg of product per year.

It was long overdue to have a woman at the helm of our board and someone with Kerry’s experience and acumen will greatly benefit our industry. Her political background and in-depth knowledge of the agriculture and agri-food industry will be a tremendous asset to help guide CMC as we work with government and stakeholders to advance the key interests of our members,” said Chris White, President and CEO of CMC.

Kerry Towle has been the Vice President of Industry and Government Relations at Sofina Foods Canada Inc since 2019, responsible for government and industry relations across Canada for all Sofina requirements. Ms. Towle was a Member of Alberta’s Legislative Assembly (MLA), representing Innisfail/Sylvan Lake from 2012 to 2015. She served as Caucus Whip and Deputy Whip from 2012 to 2014 with direct accountability over the management of caucus staff, budges and priorities ensuring all caucus business was conducted in compliance with regulations. She has a Master’s of Business Administration and Global Leadership from 14

MEATBUSINESSPRO July 2022

“I feel privileged to be the first woman appointed as CMC’s Chair as they mark a century of being the voice for meat processors in Canada. As we phase out of Covid-19, I am looking forward to working with the Board and CMC as we address the sustainability of our sector and supply chain issues as well as working together to grow our export markets,” said Towle. “As an industry, we also must be better aligned to help resolve sector issues from labour to regulatory burden and trade issues as we all face the same challenges.” Towle takes over from Sylvain Fournaise of Olymel who has led CMC over the past two years throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.

For more information, visit https://cmc-cvc.com/ meatbusinesspro.com

meatbusinesspro.com

https://www.cfib.ca July 2022 MEATBUSINESSPRO

THE TOP 3 COMMON PAYROLL MISTAKES MANAGERS MAKE You don’t want to miscalculate your workers’ wages and risk not paying them the correct amount. Payroll mistakes like this can cause major problems. As the boss, your payroll responsibilities are crucial. You need to ensure everyone receives the correct amount of wages for all the hours they put in. After all, any position in the meat industry involves demanding work. If your workers do any overtime, you need to ensure you compensate them appropriately. Unfortunately, payroll mistakes are more common than you think, and managers make them often. Don’t let these issues arise for you.

NOT PAYING YOUR EMPLOYEES ON TIME Payroll frequency is typically either weekly, biweekly, semimonthly, or monthly. Depending on the state you reside in, you need to abide by local payroll frequency laws. Check on the guidelines in your region to ensure you pay your workers in the proper time frame. After you confirm your payroll frequency requirement, stick with the timeline. Missing a payment to your employees is illegal, and you can risk facing legal action. Payroll mistakes like this can cause major problems for your business. Set up reminders and a distribution schedule to avoid any mishaps. Some employees might sign up for a direct deposit, while others will want paper checks. Keep track of everyone’s preference. Depending on their preferred method, you may need to adjust your scheduling to ensure they receive their checks on time.

MISCALCULATING OVERTIME WAGES Do you have a mixture of exempt and nonexempt workers in your business? If so, you need to ensure your nonexempt workers receive overtime pay for any additional hours they accumulate on the job. And above all, you must calculate overtime correctly. The Fair Labor Standards Act requires you to pay your employees time and a half for any hours worked beyond 40 hours in a workweek. If you don’t calculate these amounts correctly, you risk having to pay back wages and interest to your employees. Verify the laws for your state regarding overtime wages. After confirming the guidelines, carefully monitor your employees’ hours. Consider using time tracking payroll software to avoid errors and keep track of overtime. 16

MEATBUSINESSPRO July 2022

meatbusinesspro.com

DF: I don’t think being on the island has really impacted us negatively one way or the other. We’ve traveled a lot, met a lot of other farmers and livestock producers in other parts of Canada, and we all seem to have the same issues and same concerns. CMB: I understand that your farm was the first in Atlantic Canada to be involved in the TESA program. DF: Yes, I think we were the first farm east of Ontario as far as I understand. I’m not sure why the eastern associations wouldn’t have previously nominated anybody because there are many farms here on PEI doing every bit as much as we are as to attain a high level of sustainability. Anyway, we were very surprised when the PEI Cattleman’s Association nominated our MISCLASSIFYING YOUR WORKERS farm. CMB: And you were attending the Misclassifying yourthen employees can Canadian Beef conference in Calgary result in incorrect payments, leading to and you won. underpayment or overpayment. You don’t DF: up Yeah! That was a very nice moment want to mix exempt and nonexempt for us. But I don’t like to use the workers. Keep an organized classification word win actually. However, being list for all employees to avoid payment recognized for our commitment was miscalculations. a real honour. If you want to know the truth, it was a pretty humbling

You can also make the of classifying experience. As I mistake said to CBC when they an independent contractor as an employee. phoned me after the conference, I was just floored, really couldn’t it. Independent contractors receivebelieve payments significantly differently compared to CMB: So now that you have been employees. Employee classification errors recognized, do you think that will more attention and garner more can resultdraw in needing to research historical nominations out of Atlantic Canada payroll records and make retroactive forward? paymentsgoing or adjustments to employee pay. DF: Absolutely. We’ve gotten a lot of goodcan press highlighting the morale island Wage mix-ups decrease office cattle industry. I’m positive you’ll see because your workers won’t have much more farms in our neck of the woods incentive to work hard if they don’t receive nominated next year. And I have to give proper, timely payment. Misclassification the Canadian Cattleman’s Association errors can also result distrust within the recognition for in choosing a farm from company.Prince Edward Island. We are small players in the national beef industry I think it was atoreal their You wantand your business runcredit like to a wellorganization recognizeany us. common They oiled machine. Avoidtomaking treated alland the keep nominees and it payroll mistakes thatroyally workplace was a real class act. It was a wonderful camaraderie flowing. experience.

Article courtesy of Logical Position. For more information, visit https://www. logicalposition.com/ https://www.yesgroiup.ca meatbusiness.ca meatbusinesspro.com

September/October 2017 CANADIAN MEAT BUSINESS 17 July 2022 MEATBUSINESSPRO

NORTHFORK BISON CELEBRATES 25TH ANNIVERSARY Northfork Bison Distributors Inc., a Canadian bison and wild game meat company, is celebrating 25 years in business. Located in Montreal, Quebec, Northfork operates one of Canada’s largest, federally approved, stateof-the-art bison meat processing plants. The company sells bison and wild game meat products, including Bison, Elk, Venison, Ostrich and Wild Boar to it’s clients across Canada and the U.S. Northfork Bison’s products are high quality, natural, and steroid and hormone-free. Rocco Verelli, Founder and President, started the business in 1997. With a degree in Agriculture Economics from McGill University and several years of experience in the restaurant and food business, Verelli decided to pursue his lifelong passion for farming. He was looking to do something that would be sustainable and healthy with growth potential.

MEATBUSINESSPRO July 2022

meatbusinesspro.com

Although healthy eating trends were still developing a foothold in the marketplace, Verelli saw enormous potential in alternative meat sources. His love affair for all things western, ranches and animals led him to experiment with bison. He started by raising a couple of head of bison. His next task was to find a market for his product. Through sheer determination and an unshakeable belief in the benefits of bison, Verelli won over his first few customers in Quebec and New York.

THE BEST DEFE A STRONG OFFE

PROMOTING THE HEALTH BENEFITS By Ronnie P. Cons

Red meat is often wrongly portrayed as being unhealthy. some in the media as unhealthy or not environmentally fr Vegan, fish and other non-meat diets have been proposed as healthier alternatives. The result of this onslaught of negative meat messages has influenced many families to cut back on their meat and poultry purchases. Perceptions may reality but truth trumps misinformation. Parents and other consumers want what is best for their health and that of their families. They are also aware that a lot of false information is out there and as such, are open to scientific facts that can correct their misconceptions. This provides an opportunity for retail meat departments to implement an instore ‘Healthy Meat Facts’ nutritional campaign to set the record straight and convince their customers that meat and poultry are actually good for one’s health and that they should increase rather than decrease their purchases of it. The campaign outlined below can have a direct impact on sales:

Today, Northfork Bison serves the entire North American market, with a fleet of refrigerated trucks and partnerships with key foodservice distributors and supermarkets. In addition to their flagship bison meat product line, over the years Northfork Bison has added Wild Boar, Elk, Ostrich and Venison to complete their current wild game offerings.

Start byattributes displayingthe instore posters nutritional Verelli success of promoting Northforkthe Bison to the value of meat. They should be innovative, eye catching and organization’s obsession with quality and to employees’ be designed to specifically contradict any meat myths. The sense of pride in all producing healthier meat choices for comments should be literature based quoting research the marketplace. papers or MDs for maximum effect. Various posters should be made - each with a brief but powerful message covering one theme. Bison meat is one of the tastiest and healthiest

all-natural to the commonly available Posters canalternatives convey the following healthy meat fact messages: meats like chicken, pork and beef. Bison traditional meat is IRON low inout fat,the cholesterol and calories, contains 1. Let’s Truth on Meat! “You would need to eat a massive amount spinach to more protein than beef, and is fast and of easy to cook. equal (the iron content) in a steak,” says Christopher Golden, Since there is very little fat, the meat you cook doesn’t an ecologist and epidemiologist at Harvard University in shrink after cooking.

Cambridge, Massachusetts. (As quoted by nature.com in the article ‘Brain food- clever eating’.)

liver, 6 spinac

Iron fo found absorp

2. Eat Being linked Dr. Cha Califor

Zinc is preser

3. Boo Due to antibod chronic

4. Pow The pr

Muscle buildin The pr growth

5. Mea Meat c body c isoleuc threon protein 6. Eat

For more information, visit https://www.northforkbison. Meat c For a woman to receive her recommended daily intake of 18 produc com mg of iron, she would need just 300 grams of cooked bovine

functio

Say ‘he acid, v

The lin only ap meat h Facts’ and po educat

Ronnie P meat and

https://www.mmequip.com

22 CANADIAN MEAT BUSINESS September/October 2017 meatbusinesspro.com

July 2022 MEATBUSINESSPRO

VELATI NOW AVAILABLE THROUGH HANDTMANN CANADA Velati, the Milan-based premium salami, mortadella and pepperoni processing equipment and full line solution provider is now being represented in Canada by Handtmann Canada Limited.

According to D’Aoust, Handtmann and Velati prioritize customer performance and deliver it with excellent communication, efficient customization and expert application and service teams committed to maximizing the lifetime value of each installation. Handtmann Maschinenfabrik and Velati authorized the development of local relationships in May. Handtmann Inc. in the U.S. is also partnering with Velati.

Chris D’Aoust, Managing Director of Handtmann Canada, said “Our partnership with Velati combines the strengths of two great companies and offers new opportunities for Canadian processors wanting to bring authentic old-world quality to their Italian salami and deli meat operations. Additionally, we now have industry leading technology with flakers, dicers, and grinder breakers to complement our traditional full line capabilities.” 20

MEATBUSINESSPRO July 2022

meatbusinesspro.com

NEW SURREY SLAUGHTERHOUSE ‘WOULD OPEN DOOR’ TO NEW BEEF MARKETS Proposed 30,000-square-foot beef abattoir in Cloverdale would be B.C.’s largest such facility By Amy Reid, Peace Arch News A federally licensed beef processing facility is in the works in Surrey, BC. “There’s a new building coming forward, a new abattoir, I

that’s the French pronunciation of slaughterhouse,” ABOUT VELATI think FOOD TECHNOLOGIES

said Councillor Mike Starchuk. “So Surrey will have a newer facility with a better capacity so people will have Velati, foundedtheinability 1867, began a manufacturer to not have toas ship an animal to Albertaof to have it processed. The applications salami have goneprocessors. through the grinders for small and medium-sized Agricultural and Food Sustainability Advisory Committee.”

Still family owned, specialized Velati solutions are The facility is proposed on a 25-acre property within the known for producing theLand world’s Agricultural Reservefinest at 5175old-world 184th St. The planned 30,000-square foot abattoir in Cloverdale would process salami, mortadella and peperoni products. Today, the up to 100 head of cattle per day. company continues its heavy annual investment in R&D According to a city report, that would make it larger than that has over the past few years developed weighing any other processing facility in B.C.. But it would still be systems, product traceability solutions and simple fullmeat small by industry standards, compared to the largest plantsamong in Albertaother that process 3,000 heads of line automationprocessing programs, innovations. cattle per day.

The proposed facility would be fully enclosed and designed

so as to not emit odours. And while there is an operational 6,000-square-foot abattoir on the property now, it’s can only process a limited number of cattle. Chris LesHANDTMANN is general managerCANADA of Meadow Valley Meats, ABOUT LIMITED

the company behind the project. Meadow Valley Meats is seeking a Canadian Food Inspection Agency license for Handtmann Canada Limited is theregistered independently the proposed abattoir, to become a federally meat establishment expandCanadian the operation. This would operated whollyand owned sales and service allow the meat products to be transported beyond B.C.’s subsidiary of Albert Handtmann Maschinenfabrik boundaries.

GmbH, a leading “Our focus is on tryingglobal to bring technology a more efficient,solutions sustainable provider to local product to the market, realizing weHandtmann can do that nowspecializes in the food processing industry. in a very limited sense,” said Les. “I caution people when best‐of‐breed mixing, emulsifying, dividing, depositing, talking to them and they say, ‘What a big plant, that’s going filling and portioning equipment. to go allow you to go mainstream.’ Well, yes,Handtmann if you look in the context of B.C., but this is still a verywith niche innovative plant solutions provide lifetime value design, and we’ll serve a niche industry for producers and for the the strictest manufacturing standards and rugged market. It’s certainly not going to be a monstrosity of a plant processing tecupgrade from the site currently.” but it’ll be a big Continued on page 32

https://www.tcextrade.com

meatbusiness.ca

meatbusinesspro.com

September/October 2017 CANADIAN MEAT BUSINESS 31

July 2022 MEATBUSINESSPRO

RENEWING THE FIGHT ON IMPROVING INTERNAL TRADE Farmers across Canada grow some of the best highquality foods out there, so why don’t we act like it? July 1, 2022, marks the fifth anniversary of the Canada Free Trade Agreement, an intergovernmental agreement with the objective to reduce and eliminate barriers to trade of goods and services, labour mobility, and investments within Canada. The agreement replaced the Agreement on Internal Trade, which the agri-business community and many policy makers viewed as dated and ineffective. The new trade agreement took some steps forward. One of these important additions to the Agreement was the creation of a Regulatory Cooperation Table to address regulatory differences that act as barriers to trade. For the first time, business organizations had a place to raise longstanding irritants such as the requirement to have different first-aid kits or wear different work boots in every province. Business associations, including CFIB, cheered this breakthrough.

Fast forward five years and the state of internal trade and cooperation within Canada continues to be the topic of discussion, debate and handwringing among policy makers and business leaders. Some argue remaining barriers are mostly trivial and point out how difficult it is to identify long lists of specific irritants to fix. Others argue there are still many costly barriers preventing the free movement of goods, services and people within Canada and cite studies claiming that opening internal trade would increase Canada’s GDP per capita by about 4 per cent. The Canadian meat industry is one of the largest agriculture sectors to be heavily impacted by ineffective internal trade policies. Distinctions between federal and provincial/territorial regulations hinders the ability to do business across jurisdictional boundaries, highlighted by the challenges faced by meat producers. Currently, meat processed in provincially licensed plants can only be sold within provincial borders; only large, federally registered plants

MEATBUSINESSPRO July 2022

meatbusinesspro.com

can sell across provincial borders.

nod towards the fact that provincial standards in Canada are all set at an incredibly high standard of safety and quality. So, why can’t this exemption be the norm without there needing to be a food shortage? Building on this action, CFIB is recommending the federal government should mutually recognize provincial standards of meat inspection within the Next Policy Framework. By recognizing provincial standards as a valid form of inspection, meat processors would be able to access new markets selling their product across provincial borders, growing their business within Canada while feeding more Canadians.

For small and medium-sized processors, achieving federal standards can prove to be expensive and full of red tape, creating a disincentive to expand their operations. To remove such barriers, some call for harmony between federal and provincial processing standards, and for supports for small processors seeking to comply with federal standards. While harmonization and supports are viable solutions to help smaller meat processors compete, such actions still place additional requirements on provincially licensed plants looking to sell across provincial borders.

“[The Next Policy Framework] should be focused on domestic self-sufficiency. This would allow Canadian agriculture to maximize its potential by improving interprovincial trade and recognizing one of the world’s leading efficient growers of food.” We know farmers across Canada grow some of the best high-quality foods out there, and it’s time all Canadians are able to taste them from their small and mediumsized farms across the country. Share your feedback with CFIB by contacting our Business Help Line at cfib@cfib.ca or call 1-888-234-2232. Get involved in our campaign to support Bill C-234 to help support farmers and protect our food supply: https://initiatives.cfib-fcei.ca/en-ca/saveourfarms Not a member? JOIN CFIB today for more help and information.

During the pandemic in 2020, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) loosened restrictions on meat regulations by putting in place an exemption allowing provincially inspected meat processors to sell their products across provincial borders if food businesses, such as wholesalers and retailers, experienced food shortages. In this process, food processors applied to their provincial food safety authority for an exemption, who in turn sent only appropriate exemption requests to the CFIA. It is important to note that meat processors did not have to be brought up to federal standards, another meatbusinesspro.com

TAYLOR BROWN is the Policy Analyst, West & Agri-Business for the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB). CFIB is Canada’s largest association of small and medium-sized businesses with 95,000 members (6,000 agri-business members) across every industry and region. CFIB is dedicated to increasing business owners’ chances of success by driving policy change at all levels of government, providing expert advice and tools, and negotiating exclusive savings. Learn more at cfib.ca.

July 2022 MEATBUSINESSPRO

MEATBUSINESSPRO July 2022

https://www.yesgroup.ca

meatbusinesspro.com meatbusinesspro.com