sound bits

Internet Newsletter
Small Scale Food Processor Association (SSFPA)
1-866-54-SSFPA or 1-866-547-7372
info@ssfpa.net
December 2005

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of the SSFPA sound bits Newsletter
December 2005

Does your product line require you to be up-to-date on a wide range of adverse reactions? If so, you will probably be interested in the Canadian Adverse Reaction Newsletter published by Health Canada.

Health Canada's "warnings and advisories" are available on a variety of items, not only food or nutritional products.

The Natural Health Products Directorate (NHPD) issues a bulletin with information, regulations, and guidelines.

• Large food manufacturers had until December 12, 2005 to comply with Canada's new nutritional labelling requirements (also covering nutrient content claims and diet-related health claims). Small manufacturers still have until December 12, 2007. Visit the Canadian Food Inspection Agency website for more details.
• An It's Your Health article has information on these new regulations as does Accompanying Information for Nutritional Labelling.
• 2003 Guide to Food Labelling and Advertising - Chapter 1 provides a list of CFIA offices which provide Food Labelling Information Services;
• Information Letter on Carbohydrate Claims on Foods Sold in Canada was recently posted on the CFIA web site.

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Agri-Food Trade Service (ATS) web site is Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada's electronic service providing international trade and market information for Canadian agri-food exporters. Check it out for market information, export news and analysis, and much more. Latest ATS headlines are available, a newsmagazine, and a compilation of upcoming trade events in the US and Mexico.

BC Association of Farmers' Markets notes that farmers' markets operate in every type of community across British Columbia: cities, suburbs and rural communities. Find markets in your area, upcoming events, and information on these markets for both buyers and vendors.

BC Food Protection Association's web site is worth a visit. The BCFPA's most recent newsletter, The Grapevine, is also available.

Beyond Factory Farming Project. Read this thought-provoking article on Bill C-27. Some prominent scientists claim the bill will result in Canada losing its ability to adopt the independent testing and the inspection capacity it needs to protect the health and safety of Canadians.

British Columbia Institute of Technology offers many courses of interest to small scale food processors.

Canadian Agricultural Skills Service (CASS) Program is now available in BC. Interested producers can apply at their local Service Canada/HRSDC office or call 1-800 O CANADA . The program is available to farmers and their spouses having family incomes of less than $ 45,000 and farm sales of more than $10,000. Beginning farmers are also eligible.

Canadian Farm Manager (an initiative of Ontario's Ministry of Agriculture, Food & Rural Affairs) offers an excellent bi-monthly newsmagazine. The December-January issue focuses on a little known secret: some farmers actually make money - lots of it! Learn how they do it.

CEDTAP (Community Economic Development Technical Assistance Program). These are the great people who helped SSFPA get started and are still investing in our cause. Windmills on the Toronto waterfront, fish processing in Saskatchewan, immigrant women sewing conference bags in Edmonton - learn more about the innovative projects CEDTAP supports all across Canada.

Canadian Organic Growers, Inc. COG is Canada's national membership-based education and networking organization representing farmers, gardeners and consumers in all provinces. It features a lending library, quarterly magazine, and monthly internet newsletter.

Certified Organic Associations of BC is the only government-approved body responsible for overseeing the BC Certified Organic Program and is designated to implement the program under the Food Choice and Quality Act. Its website is the "go to" place for everything organic.

Eat Wild. A clearing house for information on pasture-based farming, this sites provides up-to-date, information about the benefits of choosing meat and and dairy products from pastured animals.

Engage is an internet publication put out by Tamarack, an organization which focuses on Comprehensive Community Initiatives (CCI's). CSI's are efforts by citizens to take on the most complex problems facing their communities and the lives of their fellow residents, issues like community safety, homelessness, and poverty.

Farm Folk/City Folk is a non-profit society that wants one simple thing: for people to eat local, fresh, seasonal foods, grown using farming practices that contribute to the health of the planet. The organization provides an e-mail bulletin, packed with information. You can subscribe at the lower left corner of the main page. Also check out Farm Folk/City Folk's "Information Pantry" at the same site. On Page 1 of sound bits, we also feature the group's innovative "100 Mile Diet."

Food Safety Network at the University of Guelph, Ontario provides research, commentary, policy evaluation and public information on food safety issues, including an expanded search engine capacity (60,000 articles and news stories!).

New Mexico State University College of Agriculture puts out a newsletter that is also worth a read.

Organic Consumers Association (see its "sneak attack" warning in October's issue of sound bits) also has an interesting newsletter. Organic Bytes includes consistently well-organized information and clearly defined responses to the challenges affecting organic food production.

Selling to the BC Government. Governments are also serious consumers. Learn what you need to know about selling your goods or services to the province of BC, including Frequently Asked Questions, a guide on responding to a provincial Request for Proposal, and a list of public sector buyers.

Seeds of Diversity Canada is a national charitable organization dedicated to the conservation, documentation and use of the broad gene pool of horticultural plants. It notes that "most of the rare varieties in Canadian seed catalogues are sold by small, single-proprietor companies. They are the companies that you find at Seedy Saturdays across Canada every winter. We all need to support these small niche vendors, since they are propagating and distributing over 80% of our horticultural biodiversity!"

Small Business BC offers a wide variety of affordable - any many free - seminars in Vancouver for small business operators. If you are a small food producer/processor, there is almost sure to be something of interest.

Smart Growth BC launches the Agricultural Land Reserve (ALR) Watch Listserve. Agriculture and food processing support the livelihood of over 200,000 British Columbians and contribute over $2.2 billion to the economy. All this occurs with less than 5% of the province's land base. Smart Growth BC has established an ALR Watch listserve to inform people who are passionate about its protection. To join, send a blank e-mail to:
alrwatch-subscribe@smartgrowth.bc.ca

* For even more information on the ever-expanding world of small-scale food production and processing, visit our Links page.

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