Lots happened in news across Canada last week: new food safety regulations are being put in place, Japan bans Canadian wheat, Italy will not ratify their free trade agreement with Canada, and a new and highly creative whiskey is coming out of beavers backends. Here are five things you might have missed in Canadian food news.
Butt wait, Beavers are changing the whiskey game?
Don’t knock it till you try it, right? A New Hampshire distillery has introduced a new whisky, titled Eau de Musc, that gets its flavour from—in a manner of speaking—beaver butts. Castoreum comes from a beaver's castor sac near the base of its tail; the animal releases the secretion to mark its territory in the wild. The idea of anal secretions might not bring sweet smells and flavours to mind, but in the case of beavers, it should, as the flavours are of vanilla and raspberry and leave a lasting berry quality.
Read the backend of this story in this CBC article.
Japan has suspended the sales of Canadian wheat
Genetically modified wheat, which is not authorized for commercial production in Canada, was discovered growing on an Alberta farm last year. None of the wheat from the “isolated patch” made its way into the commercial system, nor does the discovery pose a risk to food safety. Japan has since banned Canadian wheat.
Read more on this story in this The Globe and Mail article.
Jolly news for Filipino food fans, Jollibee is coming to Canada
Filipino fast-food chain Jollibee plans to open 100 stores in Canada within the next five years. Vancouver is set to be the first of the expansion. Jollibee first opened in Canada in 2016 in Winnipeg and Scarborough, Ont. with lineups out the door. This fast food giant will surely bring a taste of home for the Filipino communities within Canada with their signature fried chicken, sweet spaghetti and shaved-ice dessert called halo-halo.
Feast more on this story in this CBC article.
New food safety regulations for Canada
Canadian food regulations are already up to snuff, but things are changing. The new consolidated regulations will require food businesses that import or prepare food for export or to be sent across provincial or territorial borders to have licences, as well as preventive controls that outline steps to address potential risks to food safety. They will also help reduce the time it takes to remove unsafe food from the marketplace by requiring businesses to trace their food back to their supplier and forward to whom they sold their products.
Read up on the rules in this Government of Canada Inspection piece.
Italy will not ratify free-trade treaty with Canada
Italy will not ratify the European Union's free trade agreement with Canada, its new agriculture minister said on Thursday, stirring up an international trade spat and potentially scuppering the EU's biggest accord in years. Italy will not ratify the free-trade treaty with Canada because it protects only a small part of Italy’s specialty (Protected Designation of Origin and Protected Geographical Indication) food products, including Parmigiano Reggiano cheese and Prosciutto di Parma ham.
Get the whole pizza this story in this CBC article.
