Foods labelled Product of Canada must contain 85 per cent Canadian ingredients.Ottawa—Proposed new food labels might be the biggest boost to domestic food processing since 2008 when the former government imposed restrictive labeling rules.The changes would affect voluntary Product of Canada and Made in Canada labels that food companies can apply to their products. Product of Canada would have to contain 85 per cent domestic content while Made in Canada would cover products where the last substantial transformation occurred in this country.The 2008 changes which said Product of Canada labels had to be 98 per cent Canadian grown were often blamed for a significant shift of food processing to the United States.Food and Consumer Products of Canada supports the proposal. “We see these efforts as important, not to the detriment of any of our members' products that are produced outside of Canada, but rather an opportunity to leverage a positive claim for those that do manufacture in Canada.“It's important that thresholds for Product of Canada claims be adapted to provide Canadian consumers with accurate information so that they can make informed decisions and support domestic food producers.“Given that we are unable to grow all ingredients in Canada due to our climate - like oranges, spices and coffee – and Canadian food manufacturers need to be able to adapt to unpredictable supply disruptions and shortages, flexibility is essential.”The proposed change “will allow food manufacturers the needed operational flexibility, support local farmers and also encourage consumers to identify and buy Canadian products,” it said. “The current 98 per cent threshold of Canadian content is unworkable, and has resulted in Product of Canada claims not being used even when the vast majority of ingredients was in fact Canadian – this has been a loss for farmers, food manufacturers and consumers.”The Ottawa-based law firm Gowling says the proposed changes “could improve Canadian competitiveness and the clarity of information provided to consumers.Since the current label guidelines came into effect, the agrifood sector said the restrictive nature of the guidelines prevented broader use of the labels, making it difficult for consumers to identify products with Canadian content.Agriculture Canada began a review of the voluntary food labels to see why little use was being made of them as was noted in the 2018 Agrifood Economic Strategy Table report.“While many companies wanted to be able to identify their products as Canadian, respondents said the threshold was too restrictive when minor ingredients such as sugar or vinegar are used. They also felt that provincial and federal thresholds were not aligned which created confusion in the marketplace,” Gowling said in an analysis.”This spring, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency launched an industry consultation on the labels, which led to the proposed changes. Gowling said the changes would fit with “a wider domestic branding initiative to increase the profile of Canadian agri-food products by advancing a strong and co-ordinated Canada Brand.”The new labels also represent a step towards addressing some of the regulatory irritants identified as barriers to value creation and promotion, which were recently recognized in a federal regulatory review. “Hopefully, this is also indicative of a willingness to give meaningful consideration to competitiveness in ongoing regulatory modernization initiatives and help position Canada's agri-food sector for long-term growth.”The COVID-19 pandemic has also brought a lot of attention to the importance of domestic supply chains and importance of increasing food processing in Canada.Alex Binkley is a freelance journalist and writes for domestic and international publications about agriculture, food and transportation issues. He's also the author of two science fiction novels with more in the works.