Government reviewing local food definitions

ALLISTON – As an Alliston restaurant continues its battle with the federal government over the definition of local food, the government says it wants to hear more from other farmers, food producers and business owners.

This request comes on the heels of what has become a highly controversial move by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) after it ordered an Alliston-based gourmet fast food restaurant, Bistro Burger Joint, to remove certain local claims from products on its menu.

“The CFIA has now been instructed to do wide-scale consultations on these issues, particularly the parts about the Safe Food for Canadians Act, which is part and parcel with that,” said Simcoe-Grey MP Kellie Leitch.

She said stakeholders with ideas or issues, or who want to suggest changes to regulations, can submit them to the federal Minister of Agriculture Gerry Ritz.

At the end of March, the CFIA ordered Bistro Burger Joint to change its menu descriptions after an anonymous complaint was filed questioning the term local on some of its food products.

Since the order was issued, restaurant owner and chef Jay Klausen has garnered a lot of attention for speaking out about this issue.

“It’s opened up a big debate over how we should define local food,” he said.

A good portion of their food items are sourced from around the province, but the CFIA told the restaurant it could only use local labels if the product originated from New Tecumseth or the immediate neighbouring municipalities.

Under this rule, that means items like their potatoes, which are grown in nearby Shelburne, or their beef, which comes from a farm about 200 kilometres away from Zurich, Ont., wouldn’t qualify.

The province, meanwhile, has its own set of definitions when it comes to Ontario-grown food. The Local Food Act defines anything produced or harvested in the province as local.

The CFIA had originally given Bistro Burger Joint until April 26 to make the changes, but recently granted the restaurant an extension to mid-May to decide if it will comply or not.

“We were undecided, that’s why we asked for some time,” Klausen said. “We have people telling us go for it, some tell us comply and change it. So, it kind of all comes down to the principle at the end of the day.”

Last week, Premier Kathleen Wynne, who is doubling as the provincial minister of agriculture, spoke to the CBC about the need to review the definitions and that her government would be meeting with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada to discuss the regulations.

“I’m glad our issue is bringing awareness to it,” he said. “There are so many restaurants and businesses that are stating certain things and I have no problem with it because we do it ourselves. But it does bring a good conservation anyways.”

At a recent farmers breakfast held at her residence in Creemore, Leitch said farmers pressed the issue, asking for a commonality between the province and the federal government.

“I always like the decreasing of red tape, decreasing the difference between things so there are less administrative burdens, whether it’s the farmer, the producer or the provider at a restaurant, those are all good things,” she said.