Canada’s courts have been busy enforcing the Maple Leaf nation’s food safety laws by handing out a bunch of fines to violators.
In Quebec City, Transport Logi-Pro Inc. plead guilty to two counts of violating the Meat Inspection Act and its regulations. The Anjou-based company was ordered to pay fines of $8,000 and $1,000 by the Court of Quebec.
The offenses go back to Feb. 4 and July 16, 2008 and involved violations of the Meat Inspection Act by taking meat products from one registered establishment to another without inspection.
The Canadian Meat Inspection Act governs the import and export of interprovincial trade in meats products, the registration of establishments, and the inspection of animals and meat products in registered establishments. The Act set standards for those establishments and/or the animals slaughtered and the meat products prepared in those establishments.
Also in Quebec, Agri-Logix International Ltee and Serge Therrien, its president, were each convicted of eight counts of violating Canada’s Feeds Act and Regulations.
The company was ordered to pay $1,500 per count and Therrien was ordered to pay $1,000 per count for a total between the two of $20,000.
The violations date back to April 1 and Sept. 6, 2007 when it was proven that Agri-Logix and its president had manufactured and sold livestock feed that was not registered in accordance with 1983 Feed Regulations, which violates the Feeds Act.
The Feeds Act governs the manufacture, sale, and import of livestock feed in Canada.
Quebec also saw Madelimer Inc. plead guilty to three counts of Canada’s Fish Inspection Act and Regulations. The Court of Quebec ordered the company to pay fines of $3,000 for each count for a total of $9,000.
The violations occurred on May 14 and 18, 2007 when the company shipped lobster across provincial lines without registration and in one case packed the product in a false or misleading manner.
The Fish Act governs shipping of fish or marine plants between provinces.
Les Oeufs Breton Ltd. and Distribution 1015 Inc. each plead guilty to one count of violating Canada’s Food and Drugs Act. Les Oeufs Breton was fined $20,000 and Distribution 1015 was fined $2,000.
Eggs imported from the U.S. imported by the two companies were packed in a manner “likely to create an erroneous impression.”
Canada’s Food and Drugs Act prohibits the packaging of food in a manner likely to create an erroneous impression regarding its nature or composition.
Finally, in the Court of Quebec, Isabelle Inc entered guilty pleas on seven counts of violating the Canada Agricultural Products Act and the Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Regulations. It was ordered to pay a fine of $2,000 per count for a total of $14,000.
The Saint-Michel-de-Napierville company shipped potatoes in packages that failed to meet packing requirements in both 2005 and 2006.
The Canada Agricultural Products Act regulates, among other things, the marketing of agricultural products in import, export, and interprovincial trade.
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency is responsible for enforcing various federal food safety acts.