By Dori Modney with files from CFIA

Canadian Food Inspection Agency working to stem ‘food fraud’

Dec 7, 2020 | 6:20 PM

OTTAWA, Ont. — It’s become an increasing concern for consumers and agriculture producers alike – Food fraud!

Consumers want to know the products they buy are genuine and producers are concerned about imported products being manufactured with food substitutes. With that in mind, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) has been working to eliminate food misrepresentation and potential risk in Canada’s food supply chain.

One of the food products that has previously been an issue is honey. Canadian law, does not permit honey to contain added sugars, or it is considered adulterated and not allowed to be sold as authentic honey in Canada. In the past, there has been a problem with imported honey containing only a fraction of the real product, while the remainder was man-made sugar syrup.

Recent testing found 87% of honey samples were authentic, compared to 78% the previous fiscal year. In addition to the targeted sampling by the CFIA, samples were also collected by an independent third-party as part of the agency’s marketplace monitoring activity, and CFIA testing showed 98% of those to be authentic.

The CFIA acted to enforce food regulations on the honey that contained added sugars and prevented more than 83,000 kg of adulterated honey from being sold in the Canadian market.

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Canada’s updated Food Policy was launched in June of 2019, when the federal government invested $24.4 million over 5 years, for the CFIA to crack down on food fraud and protect company’s from unfair competition. The funding, allowed the CFIA to conduct more inspections, collect more samples, test more foods for authenticity, and gathering intelligence to better target oversight and increase Canadian confidence in the country’s food production.

As part of the CFIA’s food fraud program, between April 2019 and March 2020, the CFIA sampled and tested domestic and imported honey intended for sale in Canada. The agency has now published its honey authenticity surveillance results (2019 to 2020).

The CFIA is monitoring any increased risk of food fraud that may arise from the uncertainties in the global food trade as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, and working on effective solutions.

Marie-Claude Bibeau, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, notes the CFIA’s work to test for honey adulteration in Canada, provides a better idea of how much of an issue this is here in Canada.

“Honey adulteration is known to occur globally and is something we must continue to tackle. While the CFIA’s most recent results indicate fewer fraudulent cases, the elimination of adulterated honey from the marketplace is a world-wide objective and critical for honest honey producers.”

Quick facts

— In 2019, Canada produced 80 million pounds of honey, worth $173 million. Canadian honey exports totaled nearly $54 million, down 31% from 2018.

— As part of its sampling and testing strategy, the CFIA tested a total of 275 samples of honey in 2019 to 2020: 127 from importers and domestic processors and 148 from retailers across Canada.

— The CFIA tested honey for sugar cane and corn syrup (known as C4 sugars) using Stable Isotope Ratio Analysis and for rice syrup and beet sugar syrup (known as C3 sugars) using Nuclear Magnetic Resonance technique.

Other foods that are frequently adulterated include: olive oil, dry spices, fish, fruit juices and organic food products.