The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) has identified 12 cases in which it was dedicated to supermarkets “Arce washing“A practice where companies use the Canadian brand, such as the ARCE sheet, to promote imported food products.
The violations arose from the complaints presented to the CFIA between February and May, and all except one involved national groceries, the agency told CBC News in an email.
CFIA can impose fines up to $ 15,000 per crime. No fines or other sanctions were issued in the cases, including one that took four months to completely resolve.
The Federal Food Regulator said that “it took action” in each case and that, in all of them, the supermarkets solved the problem.
The CFIA would not provide any edible name, but CBC News confirmed that the prolonged case involved avocado oil purchased in a groceries owned by Sobeys near Edmonton.
Some buyers committed to the Canadian purchase movement are concerned that if supermarkets do not face repercussions, the “Arce Wash” will persist.
“As consumers, we are trying to do our part,” said Brenda Nicholls, resident of Hamilton. “I think the CFIA needs to intensify and start collecting fines, putting [on] some pressure, so that there are some changes in the grocery store. “
In July, CBC News He conducted his own research And he discovered more than a dozen cases of Arce washing in a Toronto Sobeys, and one in a loblaw owner.
After Nicholls read CBC’s investigationShe has been carefully reviewing the labels in stores and has discovered a deceptive signage.
At the end of July, Nicholls found Moras in his local fortnos owned by Loblaw promoted with a red arce sheet symbol and a “Canada product” statement. But the small print in the packaging indicated that they were a “US product.”
The next month, he found asparagus in his local ornaments without luxuries promoted with a red maple leaf and statements “prepared in Canada” and “Canada’s product.” But the product label said it was distributed by an American company and “Peru products.”
“The product of the Canada label seemed to be arbitrarily slapped, and is misleading,” said Nicholls.
She did not file a complaint with the CFIA. But in the case of berries, Nicholls says he complained with the Fortinos store staff. When nothing changed, he says he warned the owner of the store, who solved the error.
Marketing professor Tim Dewhirst says that if it is discovered that supermarkets are making repeated mistakes, they should face consequences.
“At one point, you say, ‘enough is enough,” said Dewhirst, a professor at the University of Guelph.
“If there are no fines despite repeated violations, it becomes that regulations have no teeth.”
Correct signaling is the law
Loblaw did not comment on the findings of Nicholls and Sebeys did not comment on the case of avocado oil. But both shops have He told CBC News They strive for the precise signaling of the country of origin, and pointed out that the task is a challenge when it is a massive inventory and the suppliers that constantly change.
Both groceries, the largest in Canada, also said they are continually making efforts to reduce errors.
Federal regulations indicate that food labels and store signaling It must be accurate and not misleading.
Many important grocery chains are trying to attract conscious buyers ‘Buy Canadians’, but when CBC News took a closer look, he found a misleading Canadian brand for various imported food products.
The CFIA says that it has received 160 complaints related to the claims of the country of origin for food so far this year, 41 percent of which were presented between mid -July and August. The agency has identified that forty cases so far in violation of the rules.
CBC has details of 27 violations that were derived from the complaints received until the end of May. The majority involved national grocery chains. Fines were not issued in any of the cases, all of which have now been resolved, the agency said.
In seven of the cases, the signaling in the store announced the product as a “Canada product”, a claim that did not coincide with the small print. In five other cases, an Arce sheet was used in the labeling in the store to promote imported products such as condiments and coffee.
“Product of Canada”, “made in Canada” and “prepared in Canada” the labels require each different degrees of Canadian contentthat cannot include the packaging process, the CFIA told CBC News.
The promotional use of the arce sheet symbol must be “sincere and not misleading,” added the agency.
The avocado oil case
CBC News identified the shopkeeper in a CFIA case because the plaintiff contacted CBC and provided documentation.
Sheila Young, who lives on the outskirts of Edmonton, complained to the agency in April about the compliments of the Sobeys brand, the houses of the house brand, the avocado oil bought in her Safeway local property of Sobeys.
The signaling in the oil store included a red maple leaf and the “Made in Canada” label. But the small impression in the bottle revealed that the product was imported.
“It’s Arce’s washing and that shouldn’t be done,” said Young. “I am retired. I have time to put reading lenses and read all the labels, and there are many people who do not.”
In July, three months after Young filed his complaint with the CFIA, CBC News research found similar cases: More than a dozen imported compliment products, which include salad dressing, raw glums and crude nuts, promoted in a Toronto Sobeys store with the same maple leaf symbol and, in several cases, a statement “made in Canada”.
Shortly after the CBC Research Report, Sebeys eliminated its Canadian brand from imported compliment products that appear in history.
On Friday, four months after the CFIA began investigating the Young’s avocado oil complaint, the agency reported that the matter had been resolved.
The CFIA said that the deceptive signaling of oil had been eliminated in April, but that it took longer “to determine if more corrective actions were needed to avoid a similar situation in the future.”
CFIA responds
Young was happy to know that his case was finally closed. However, she says that Sebeys should be penalized, since she believes that the company was responsible for the long resolution process. Neither she nor CBC News know the exact details behind the delay.
“I am disappointed that I have taken four months,” he said. “It should be something that can be clarified in a few weeks.”
Young points out that the Buy Canadian movement has now strengthened for seven months.
“Enough time has passed,” he said. “[Grocers] They should have it together. “
The CFIA said that “it takes seriously the incorrect label of food” and selects the appropriate application action “based on a variety of considerations”, including risk factors, the company’s compliance history and its “response capacity to solve the problem.”
What can buyers do?
Dewhirst suggests that worried Canadians analyze all labels.
“Responsibility should not be left alone to buyers,” he said. “But certainly, only because of the amount of instances we have seen with the incorrect labeling, it would certainly encourage people to … really carefully verify the labels [and] Do not assume just because they see an arce sheet. “
As for Nicholls, after his recent experiences with the incorrect labeling, he says that he tends mainly in independent stores that specialize in locally produced foods.
“It depends on the consumer to talk to his wallet.”
