Mistakes happen. With food manufacturing, mistakes can take the form of malfunctioning equipment or cross-contamination of ingredients. Sometimes a key, trusted player in the supply chain sources an ingredient from a new supplier to meet demand, and that new ingredient contains an undeclared allergen. Sometimes, despite rigorous testing and sampling procedures, salmonella finds its way onto the production line and contaminates a LOT.
Read MoreIn 2017, bottles of wine appeared in Liquor Control Board of Ontario (“LCBO”) stores, which displayed labels with “Product of Israel” as their Country of Origin. Some consumers took issue with this origin claim, though, as the wine came from the West Bank – a contested territory with a history of Palestinian existence. These consumers felt that it was erasure to label the wines as Israeli when, in fact, the grapevines could be found in the West Bank.
Read MoreIn July 2014, a three-year investigation by the CFIA into the operations of Mucci International Marketing Inc. and Mucci Pac Ltd. found that $1 Million worth of tomatoes labeled as a “Product of Canada” were, in fact, imported from Mexico. The investigation resulted in charges being laid against these companies as well as two Mucci Farms executives and on June 6, 2016, CFIA issued massive penalties against Mucci Farms: the corporations were convicted and fined $1.2 million and sentenced to three years of probation and the executives were fined $150,000 each and sentenced to three months of probation. With victim fine surcharges, the total fine meted out could eclipse $1.9 million.
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