August 2008 Edition

                                          What's Happening at the FCC

EU – Catch Certificate

EU Fisheries Ministers approved in principle regulations aimed at deterring IUU fishing that not only target fishing vessels and related vessels but also would impose a catch certificate regarding imports entering the EU through normal trade channels signed by a government official validating that the fish was not illegally caught, not caught in an unregulated fishery, nor was an unreported catch. The document was approved in principle with many of the details to be worked out in subsequent meetings. The proposed time table for the regulations is for them to become effective January 1, 2010 with regulations affecting imports to be effective January 1, 2011.

Canada-European Commission (EC) discussions on this issue have focused on the Article 19 “cooperative arrangements” provision. The EC and the EU’s Ambassador to Canada, Mr. Prince, have encouraged this approach, recognizing that IUU fishing is not really a Canadian issue. However, the onus will be on Canada to submit documentation that demonstrates that our fisheries management regime and industry practices have sufficient traceability to meet the EU standard.

Next Steps

1. DFO Policy, Fisheries Management, Conservation & Protection; CFIA Seafood Division; and DFAIT to develop a document explaining the checks & balances, flow through; etc for Canada’s top 10 seafood exports to the EU as a draft document to be submitted to the EU as the basis for a Canada – EU IUU Cooperative Arrangement. This is a somewhat similar process used to establish the Canada-EU Equivalency Veterinary Agreement.

2. The document to be sent to industry for review and embellishment, particularly with regard to industry traceability practices. The FCC will use our Trade Policy/Market Access Committee

3. Government-industry meeting in the Fall of 2008 to help finalize the documentation that will form the basis of discussions with the EU regarding an Article 19 IUU cooperative arrangement.

Exports to Russia

Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) is continuing discussions with the Russian food safety officials regarding the recent audit by Russia in Canada. The status quo continues with regards to market access but the final outcome remains uncertain.

The revised export certificate should be finalized in 8-10 weeks. However, the certificate will not supply all the shipping details required by Russia. As a result, CFIA and industry will have to develop a mechanism to supply the additional information to the Russian authorities so the shipment can be entered. CFIA and the Canadian pork exporters to Russia have such a system in place and poultry may also be required to provide the additional information.

In summary, the Russian importer has to get a permit from the Russian authorities to import each shipment. To get the permit, the importer must submit full documentation regarding the shipment, including information that FCC would consider commercially confidential. The Russian authorities want to get as much information from the exporters as possible in order to confirm the accuracy of the information they receive from the importer. CFIA recognizes that Canadian exporters are not prepared to provide information they would consider commercially confidential.

CFIA plans to send the FCC in a couple of weeks the type of information that exporters will be requested to supply regarding shipments to Russia.

Lobster Tomalley – Japan

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently issued an advisory not to eat the tomalley of lobster because of high PSP in the tomalley this year resulting from excessive red tide this year in New England. Tomalley is an integral part of the Japanese whole lobster eating experience. In response, Japan first halted the import of all lobster products which was quickly replaced by a testing regime for the import of live lobsters.

Unfortunately, the testing methodology is a bit of a wild card and can capture cadmium and other issues beside PSP. CFIA and Health Canada have developed a technical critique of the Japanese methodology and hope to meet with the Japanese shortly in order to develop an alternative approach to address Japan’s PSP concern regarding the tomalley.

Lobsters – Industry Roundtable

In response to one of the recommendations emanating from last November’s Lobster Summit, the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA) with support from DFO and Agriculture & Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) has agreed to fund 3 Lobster Industry Roundtable meetings. The goal of the Roundtable is to work in a collaborative way to address issues identified in the Summit that face the industry and establish a long-term means of improving value to the entire sector. In addition to the FCC, seats on the Roundtable are available to the Atlantic and Quebec provinces (5); harvesters (8); live & processing segments of the industry (8);a lobster distributor; DFO (3); the Atlantic Veterinary College; and Agriculture & Agri-food Canada. The Canadian Centre of Fisheries Innovation (CCFI) will chair the Roundtable and provide administrative support.

Cooked & Peeled Shrimp – Investigation of Interest in a Generic Marketing Campaign.

Further to the Coldwater Conference in St. John’s in January, funds have been put in place to conduct industry interviews to determine if there is support to launch a generic promotion campaign for cooked & peeled cold water shrimp. ACOA and the Fisheries Departments of NL. NB, and NS will contribute $26, 000 towards the project with the Quebec government providing in-kind support by conducting the industry interviews in Quebec. Brian Burke, Burke Consulting Inc will conduct the interviews in Newfoundland. Peter Norsworthy, Pices Consulting will conduct the interviews in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. Groupe Export will conduct the interviews in Quebec.

The interviews should take place in August. Once a report has been completed and circulated, the intent is to hold an industry meeting to determine next steps, if any. The FCC is working with the Canadian Centre for Fisheries Innovation overseeing and coordinating the implementation of the project.

Globe & Mail: Tilapia

Based on a study conducted by the Wake Forest University School of Medicine in North Carolina that compared the omega-6 and omega-3 ratios in a number of food products, the Globe and Mail published an article under the sensationalized title of “Farmed tilapia may be no better for you than a doughnut”. In response, the FCC sent a letter to the editor noting that in response to the Wake Forest report 16 world renowned researchers and cardiologists from England, Germany, Australia, the USA, and Canada authored an open letter publicly disagreeing with the study’s conclusions. In addition Mayo Clinic nutritionists in their criticism of the Wake Forest Study noted that in the same journal in which the study was published a rebuttal article commented that governments and professional organizations have not used the omega-3/omega-6 ratio in years concerning the nutritional value of food.

Labelling: Changes to Allergy Declarations

Health Canada proposes a regulatory amendment to require the declaration of the source of a food allergen or gluten on the label of prepackaged products either in the list of ingredients or in a statement beginning with the words "Allergy and Intolerance Information - Contains...." It would also require the declaration of added sulphites, when present in a total amount of 10ppm or more, in a statement beginning with the words "Allergy and Intolerance Information - Contains..."

The proposed regulation would not apply to a food allergen or gluten present in a prepackaged product as a result of cross contamination. As such, the voluntary use of the "may contain" statement would still be available. Regarding sulphites, the amendment would address only added sulphites, not naturally occurring sulphites. The term "sulphites" would refer specifically to the group of food additives composed of sulphurous acid and its salts that are currently regulated under the Regulation. If and when the new regulations come into force, the industry has 12 months to bring labels into compliance.

EU – Ban on Seal Products

The European Commission is proposing regulations that will prohibit the placing on the EU market, the import, the transit through, and the export of seal products. The regulation shall not apply to seal products resulting from hunts traditionally conducted by Inuit communities and which contribute to their subsistence.

Notwithstanding the ban, seal products shall be allowed into the EU where the following conditions are met: