Farmscape for October 15, 2008   (Episode 2988)

Pork Marketing Canada reports its new "Canadian Pork Label" has been well accepted among Canada's grocery retailers.

The Canadian Pork Label, which bears a Canadian flag and the words "Canadian Pork-Porc Canadien," was introduced in June to help consumers identify pork products of Canadian origin at retail.

Pork Marketing Canada manager Roy Kruse says a Canadian Federation of Agriculture study found 90 percent of consumers felt Canadian grown products should be easily identifiable in the store and 95 percent would prefer to buy Canadian products and Canadian retailers have embraced the new label.

Clip-Roy Kruse-Pork Marketing Canada  
You'll see it in Safeway in Manitoba and Saskatchewan.

You will see it also in all four provinces in all four provinces in their full service counters with their Safeway Select Program and Safeway also features the label in their pork features in their flyer.

With Save-On-Foods you'll see it through Alberta and B.C.

Associated Grocers, you'll see it throughout Alberta and B.C. as well.

Superstore is developing dividers in the meat counter that will identify our label at the retail store and they also use the image in their features in their flyer.

Sunterra Markets throughout Alberta are also using the label.

Walmart is also using 100 percent Canadian.

Maple Leaf Foods is a major packer as we all know and they are putting the label directly on all vacuum packed pork and that is showing up across the country.

I might add too that there are a few retailers that have their own Canadian label program.

That would be Federated Co-op and they have their Co-op 100 Percent Gold Canadian product label and Thrifty Foods also identifies Canadian pork with their own label.

Kruse points out the difference between the Canadian Pork Label and U.S. Country of Origin Labelling is that the Canadian initiative is completely voluntary were as the U.S. program is mandatory.

He notes additional information on the Canadian Pork Label can be found at putporkonyourfork.com.

For Farmscape.Ca, I'm Bruce Cochrane.

       *Farmscape is a presentation of Sask Pork and Manitoba Pork Council