Sunday, October 30, 2005
Crazy Canucks Ban Kraft Dinner, Ice Cream
OTTAWA — Should ice cream be called ice ‘cream’ if it contains imported butter oil instead of cream?
Should processed cheese be called processed ‘cheese’ if the stuff is made largely from imported whey powder anymore? And should macaroni and cheese be called macaroni and ‘cheese’ if it also stretches the definition of cheese?
A cursory reading of new federal legislation, Bill C-27, suggests that such products might have to be rechristened simulated ice cream, cheese-flavoured slices and macaroni and artificial cheese, among other options.
But the bill has also sparked accusations from the Consumers Association of Canada of an impending outright ban on common food staples, including margarine, processed cheese and cheese spreads, and even Kraft Dinner — a claim vigorously denied by the bill’s backers who counter that it’s all about clarity in labelling for consumers.
Dealing with a hodge-podge of matters related to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, C-27 could receive third reading this fall. The controversy stems from an amendment, concerning the labelling of dairy products, unanimously adopted by the all-party Standing Committee on Agriculture in June.
The amendment to section 18, which is available for perusal on the House of Commons web site, states that:
No person shall market an agricultural product using a dairy term on the label unless that product contains the dairy ingredient represented by the dairy term;
and
No person shall market an agricultural product that has a dairy term on the label if the agricultural product is intended to substitute for a dairy product.
Exceptions are made if the manufacturer includes words like artificial, simulated, imitation, or flavoured on the packaging.
Another exception exempts products "where the nature of the agricultural product is clear from traditional usage or from the name by which the agricultural product is generally known." Peanut butter, for instance, would seem to fall into that category.
[Source: Nelson Zandbergen, Agrinews, September 2005]
No decision yet from the House of Commons on the labelling of breast milk.
- MTMT
posted by Mentok @ 12:40 p.m.,
3 Comments:
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At 11:25 p.m.,
Mentok said...
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I would try to milk this cheesy gag for all it's worth, but apparently that's illegal now.
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At 8:17 a.m.,
A. B. Chairiet said...
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I for one wish they would enforce clear-cut labels as to what is dairy and what is not. Being lactose intolerant and such, I grow tired of reading the fine print.
Oh, and about the macaroni...Why do you crafty Canadians call it "Kraft Dinner"?
I've never heard an American refer to it as such...Just the "Bare Naked Ladies" and the "Kids in the Hall".
Hell, I'm surprised you guys don't just stick a feather in your fancy cap and call it macarouni.
(Giggles)
~ Ash -
At 8:31 a.m.,
Mentok said...
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I didn't know that Americans didn't call it Kraft Dinner. Learn something new...
...And speaking of that, here's a boring, Cliff-Claven-esque fact I've always enjoyed:
In 18th Century London, Macaroni was a private club popular with the high-fashion set. That's the real meaning of the Yankee Doodle song: the Yanks, in the eyes of the Brits, were such country bumpkins that they thought just putting a feather in their hat made them look haute-cuture.
