Hot Potato: The CFIA Throws our Fruit and Vegetable Compendiums to Stakeholders for Comment
Potatoes are so hot right now. Disregarding the controversy regarding P.E.I. potatoes and the potato wart, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (“CFIA”) recently found itself critiqued over a Tweet it published regarding a consultation on the size of cubed potatoes in hermetically sealed packages – canned potatoes. The CFIA proposed increasing the maximum allowable size of the cubes from 10mm to 20mm. And while it is a matter of written and unwritten Canadian constitutional principles to allow stakeholders to comment on any changes made to regulation, including in this case, “documents incorporated by reference” into the Safe Food for Canadians Regulations (“SFCR”), the CFIA’s choice to publish the consultation on Twitter was unusual. Moreover, it caused a fair amount of public anger and disbelief, as the Tweet – which was largely viewed by the Canadian public – expressed that the CFIA drew attention to the wrong potato controversy. The Twitter consensus was that, instead of a discussion centred on the potato wart and P.E.I., or, frankly, any number of social and political issues within Canada, the Government wanted to know if people were concerned by the size of potatoes found in cans. For context, we pulled the following replies from Twitter:
Yasmine Mohammed replied, “Listen. If someone is eating canned potatoes, they don’t care what size they are.”
Obvious C19 school spread replied, “I have never in my life bought potatoes in a can. Were they put there by a man? In a factory down town?”
Daniel Brecka replied, “You know, I was just telling someone the other day…canned potato sizes are THE major social issue of the day. Bravo on solving this problem now!!”
Dr. Sausage replied, “Make certain ALL stakeholders are given the chance to weigh in here” and then inserted an image of Mr. Potato Head.
Regulatory consultations are critical to the transparent functioning of a state, and to reassure all various stakeholders – the public, industry, NGOs, etc. – that their voice is heard. So, we welcome all regulatory consultations, including a contemplated change to the standard of identity that sets forth the acceptable size of cubed potatoes. Such a change will impact food manufacturers, and encourage greater business from international stakeholders. However, we also recognize the Tweet as being received by the Canadian public as tone-deaf. The results of the informal Twitter consultation, whether intentional or not, were: nobody cares. Regardless, the consultation on cubed potatoes closed on February 21, 2022.
That being said, what is interesting about the potato consultation is that it exists within a much larger series of consultations. One of which was published alongside the consultation on cubed potatoes, and which should yield more dialogue than it has: the Consultation for Fresh Fruit or Vegetables (“FFV”). From October 29, 2021 to December 31, 2022, the CFIA wants to hear from stakeholders regarding the grade requirements and standards of FFV. And because the Compendium for FFV is so vast, the CFIA will launch this consultation in phases. Phase 1 and 2 have already passed, but Phase 3 is on the horizon. Phase 3 will examine changes to the grades and requirements for beets, carrots, onions, cabbage, parsnips, rutabagas, and of course, potatoes. A change to the grades and requirements for fresh fruit and vegetables has the potential to impact consumer understanding, business decisions and activities, human and financial resources, and label changes; additionally, a change will harmonize Canadian requirements with the requirements found elsewhere on the global market. Phase 2, for example, proposed changes to peaches and pears that removed the requirement for each fruit to be hand-picked; this opens up the possibility of more automation. The proposed changes for peaches and pears also re-defined the minimum diameter requirements of each fruit, the size of bruise diameters, and the standard of russeting found on each grade of pear. We can only infer similar changes will be proposed with Phase 3, including changes to the grades and requirements of potatoes.
These changes will be felt, to some degree, by all stakeholders: particularly industry, trading partners, and consumers. But changes will also affect workers and farmers. If fruit is no longer required to be hand-picked, the demand for farm workers and temporary foreign workers will undoubtedly change. So, even small changes to FFV product regulations deserve some scrutiny and attention.
While the consultation on cubed potatoes is closed, and the CFIA has re-opened exports of P.E.I. potatoes to Puerto Rico, our heated interest in tubers can continue with the CFIA’s consultation on Volume 2 of the Canadian Grade Compendium, FFV. Sign up to receive notifications from the CFIA on the launch of each phase, or email them directly at cfia.labellingconsultation-etiquetage.acia@inspection.gc.ca to voice your opinion. Either way, potatoes haven’t been this hot since we sat in a circle as children and played games with Russets and oven mitts.
For more information on the proposed changes to the Canadian Grade Compendium: Volume 2 – Fresh Fruit or Vegetables, visit the CFIA’s Consultations and Engagement page.