XPost: can.politics, bc.politics, ont.politics   
   XPost: ab.politics   
   From: ConsRCons@govt.cda   
      
   Remember that Harper and his government have decided that government   
   regulation is safely substituted by 'monitoring and inspection by the   
   producer'.   
   And remembering that, you may as well keep your 'organic' money in your   
   pocketbook.   You're being hosed.   
   ____________________________________   
   CBC News Posted: Jan 10, 2014   
      
   Pesticide levels on some organic produce indicate use was deliberate   
   Pesticide residue found on nearly half of organic produce   
      
      
   Concerns raised over Canada’s enforcement of organic rules   
      
      
   As much as eight per cent of organic produce tested by Canadian   
   inspectors has so much pesticide residue that experts say there is a   
   strong indication synthetic chemicals were deliberately used, a CBC News   
   investigation has found.   
      
   Health Canada sets a maximum residue limit (MRL) for food products,   
   representing the most that is expected to remain on food when a   
   pesticide is used according to label directions.   
      
   The agency that inspects food says residue levels that have more than   
   five per cent of that maximum level “are considered to imply the   
   deliberate use of a pesticide.”   
      
   In an analysis of two years of testing conducted by the Canadian Food   
   Inspection Agency (CFIA), CBC News found eight per cent of organic fresh   
   fruit and vegetables would be in the category that the agency says would   
   imply deliberate pesticide use.   
      
   Miles McEvoy, deputy administrator for the National Organic Program in   
   the United States, says the testing protocol in that country is part of   
   a beefed-up enforcement plan that was implemented at the request of   
   organic farmers.   
      
   “You're going to want to look again specifically at the pesticide, at   
   the levels, but yes, if you find over five per cent of the MRLs that is   
   a good indication that there was some direct application rather than   
   drift,” McEvoy said.   
      
   U.S. Department of Agriculture regulations prohibit produce with   
   pesticide residues exceeding five per cent from being sold with an   
   organic label.   
      
   “The concept there is that organic products shouldn't have residues on   
   them because they're not grown with the use of these synthetic   
   pesticides, but occasionally there may be some residues on a crop from   
   drift,” McEvoy said.   
      
   In Canada, no such restrictions apply.   
   ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^   
      
   The CFIA said it did not prevent the eight per cent of produce that   
   exceeded the threshold from being sold as organic because it did not   
   represent a health risk.   
      
   The official limits vary between the two countries.   
      
   “There are however alarm bells that can go off, or red flags,” said   
   Matthew Holmes of the Canada Organic Trade Association, in reaction to   
   the findings by CBC News.   
      
   Holmes noted that high levels of residue can be an indication of   
   deliberate use of prohibited pesticides, but it is not definitive. There   
   is also the possibility that they are the result of drift from other   
   farms or improper handling and storage.   
      
   "These products aren't going to be absolutely pesticide-free. They're   
   just grown without the use of persistent toxic chemical pesticides."   
   Holmes said.   
      
   In an email to CBC News, the CFIA said when residues are found that are   
   above five per cent of the maximum limit, “the CFIA informs the   
   certification body, who are required to followup with the   
   operator/producer to determine the source of the contamination.”   
      
   That could trigger suspensions and cancellations of the operator’s   
   licence if the producer violated the rules.   
      
   The CFIA could not say if any of the produce that tested positive for   
   residues in the data provided to CBC News resulted in enforcement actions.   
      
   The agency adds Canada’s organic certification is recognized as   
   equivalent to that of the U.S.   
      
   CBC News analysis of the data excluded produce that contained persistent   
   contaminants such as DDT, as well as natural pesticides permitted in   
   organic agriculture.   
      
      
   Mandatory testing in U.S.   
      
   Starting in 2013, the USDA required five per cent of organic operations   
   to undergo routine pesticide residue testing.   
      
   No such testing program exists in Canada, although the CFIA does test a   
   certain amount of organic produce in its pesticide monitoring program   
   for all foods.   
      
   The agency tested 921 samples for pesticide residue in a two-year period   
   ending September 2013.   
      
   “I think that residue testing can offer an important role because it   
   helps ensure consumer confidence,” independent organic inspector Stuart   
   McMillan told CBC News in an interview.   
      
   The U.S. testing protocol is part of a beefed up enforcement plan that   
   was implemented at the request of organic farmers, according to the   
   USDA’s McEvoy.   
      
   “They were seeing violations that were occurring, and enforcement was   
   not occurring. Civil penalties were not being used,” McEvoy said.   
      
   “But I think organic farmers in particular, when they see violations,   
   they want everyone to be held to the same standard and they want the   
   penalties to be significant so that people are playing by the same   
   rules,” McEvoy said.   
      
      
   Criminal court cases   
      
   The USDA responded to the organic farmers’ concerns by assessing   
   approximately $500,000 in fines involving dozens of operators in the   
   last four years. It even sent cases to criminal court.   
      
      
   Mark Kastel   
      
   Mark Kastel, a farm policy analyst at the Cornucopia Institute in   
   Wisconsin, says his organization has filed a legal complaint with the   
   USDA against Quebec-based Jirah Milling and Sales Inc.   
      
   In April 2012, Harold Chase of Springfield, Ore., was sent to prison for   
   more than two years after he pleaded guilty to wire fraud for selling in   
   excess of four million pounds of corn falsely labelled as organically grown.   
      
   Chase is one of three people the USDA helped put in jail in the last few   
   years.   
      
   “The penalties send the message that you can't get away with defrauding   
   the organic consumer,” McEvoy said.   
      
   The CFIA could not point to a single prosecution involving organic products.   
      
   In 2009, the agency came close to prosecuting a bakery for organic fraud   
   under the Food and Drugs Act.   
      
   As reported by CBC News on Thursday, CFIA inspectors completed an   
   investigation that showed a bakery in Burnaby, B.C., had been selling   
   organic bread using conventional flour for years.   
      
   In the end, the CFIA did not charge the bakery for misleading customers.   
      
      
   Certification cancelled   
      
   While no charge was laid in that case, the CFIA does regularly cancel   
   organic certification for companies not following the rules.   
      
   In 2011, Quebec-based Jirah Milling and Sales Inc. lost its organic   
   certification. According to the CFIA enforcement website, the   
   certification was cancelled in part, for making false or misleading   
   claims in the company’s application to be certified organic.   
      
      
   [continued in next message]   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)