sound bits

Internet Newsletter
Small Scale Food Processor Association (SSFPA)
1-866-54-SSFPA or 1-866-547-7372
info@ssfpa.net
March 2006

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of the SSFPA sound bits Newsletter
March 2006

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.

Involving You is a newsletter produced by the Office of Consumer and Public Involvement (OCAPI) as a means of encouraging informed involvement of Canadians in decisions about health priorities, politices and programs of various Health Canada branches. Contact OCAPI if you are interested in particular issues and would like to be on its mailing list.

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BC Food Protection Association's web site is worth a visit for anyone involved in food production and, thus, food safety. The BCFPA's newsletter, The Grapevine, is also available on the site.

British Columbia Institute of Technology offers many courses of interest to small scale food processors, including sessions on Food Safety and Technology.

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 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.

Canadian Community Economic Development Network focuses on revitalizing communities, both urban and rural. A monthly newlsetter, published by the BC/ Yukon branch of this Network, is an important regional communications tool. To subscribe or to share information, email Ellie Parks.

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.

Environmental Working Group. Learn about the recent World Trade Organization sessions on agriculture and other global, environmental, and food security issues.

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. In past issues of sound bits, we have featured the group's support of the innovative 100 Mile Diet.

Focus on the Future, commissioned by the Invstment Agriculture Foundation of BC and the BC Agriculture Council, supports further development of the agri-food industry in British Columbia. Its goals are to (1) assess key issues in the agricultural sector and (2) identify strategies and actions. Outlines of the project's phases and expected outputs can be found at the website.

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!).

Food Information Service (FIS), with input from both University of British Columbia and BC Institute of Technology, is a provincially-funded venture aimed at providing two services: public inquiries and industrial inquiries. Its mandate it to "provide factual unbiased information about food, its production, preservation, wholesomeness and safety to the public and the food industry." Check its brochure to find out more about its services, both free and fee-for-service.

Olympic Opportunities can be investigated through the 2010 Commerce Centre. The Centre helps businesses of all sizes and descriptions from across British Columbia take advantage of the 2010 Games. Its newsletter, in particular, showcases specific opportunities and provides a forum for success stories.

Organic Consumers Association also has an interesting newsletter. Organic Bytes includes consistently well-organized information and clearly defined responses to the challenges affecting organic food production.

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. Also included are on-line guides and an internet newsletter. 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

Vancouver Food System Assessment explores "how the [food] system might be transformed to enhance food security for all residents through community-led economic development and promotion of policies that build food system sustainability." Recommendations include"market[ing] Chinatown food resources to surrounding neighbourhoods," "promot[ing] sustainable food procurement for the 2010 Olympics," and "expand[ing] the role of urban agriculture."

Women's Enterprise Centre offers skills development; business lending programs; and access to mentors, peer networks, resources, events and more to female entrepreneurs. Call toll-free at 1-800-643-7014.

Your Food Processing Guide for Ontario, though focusing on that province, has information of value to any Canadian processor. It includes information on researching, manufacturing and marketing commercial-scale food products; along with guidelines for food safety, quality assurance and government regulations. Numerous contacts and on-line links throughout the Guide direct the reader to additional resources.

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

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Coming Events

Deerholme Farm 2006 Workshop Series, April - July 2006. Hosted by award-winning BC chef Bill Jones and his well-known co-chef, James Barber, four more sessions remain. They focus on Cowichan Valley Lamb (April 8), French Country Cooking (May 13), Celebrating Salmon (June 17) , and BBQ With the Masters (July 8). Cost is $85 per person. Email Bill Jones or call (250)748-7450 for more information.

Regional Consultation Meeting on Proposed Changes to Canada's Food Guide, April 10, 2006, 9 am, Segal Center at Simon Fraser University's Harbour Center in Vancouver. The focus will be on two specific content issues, food intake patterns and energy balance. To register, return the attached form by April 3.

EAT! Vancouver, May 26-28. A "consumer food and cooking festival where exhibitors can interact directly with their target audience; sample, taste-test and discuss their products and services; and receive instant feedback from potential customers." Vancouver; BC Place.

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