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Ontario Court Issues Fines For Violations

By Dan Flynn and Suzanna Schreck

Fines of $3,000 for each of two counts of violating the Canadian Meat Inspection Act were imposed last year on an Ontario company after guilty pleas were entered.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) announced the final outcome of the case late last week.  It stems from offenses that occurred on Nov. 7, 2006 by the Wei Kee Company In Scarborough, Ontario.

The first offense involved the packaging of chicken meat intended for sale using Canada's federal legend without regulatory authorization, which contravenes paragraph 5(a) of the Meat Inspection Act.

The second offense was for sending or conveying chicken meat from one province to another when it was not prepared or stored in a registered establishment, contravening paragraph 8 (a) of the Act.

The Wei Kee Company pleaded guilty of the two offenses at Quebec's Gatineau courthouse.

The CFIA is responsible for enforcing a variety of federal statutes, including the Meat Inspection Act and Regulations.

Canada's Meat Inspection Act governs the import and export of and interprovincial trade in meat products, the registration of establishments, and the inspection of animals and meat products in registered establishments, and sets the standards for those establishments and for the animals slaughtered and the meat products prepared in those establishments.

Full post as published by Food Safety News on March 22, 2010 (boomark / email).