Search
Better Farming OntarioBetter PorkBetter Farming Prairies

Better Farming Ontario Featured Articles

Better Farming Ontario magazine is published 11 times per year. After each edition is published, we share featured articles online.


Regulation changes for Ontario's meat processors and anaerobic digester operators

Friday, November 1, 2013

by SUSAN MANN

Provincial government changes to meat regulations that take effect Jan. 1, 2014 will make it easier for businesses to comply with the rules.

Laurie Nicol, executive director of the Ontario Independent Meat Processors, says there are a number technical amendments to regulations under the Food Safety and Quality Act “that will provide flexibility and reduce some regulatory burdens.” The changes will make the regulations more modern and “outcome based,” she adds.

The regulation changes cover a “number of critical control areas,” she says. The language is clearer, less prescriptive and the regulation is more outcome based. “There are many ways to achieve the same outcome but in the regulatory text it was very prescribed before,” she explains.

The meat processors association isn’t advocating for lower standards and companies still must have controls in place to cover, for example, the handling of dry storage. The regulation just isn’t going to specify any one way that it must be handled. As long as meat processors meet the food safety requirements of the regulations, there will be some latitude in how they accomplish them.

The Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food says on its website the meat regulation changes are part of the “Open for Business strategy and reduces regulatory burden on businesses while continuing to protect the public interest.”

Another recent regulatory change under the strategy is to streamline approvals for on-farm anaerobic digestion facilities that treat up to 50 per cent off-farm materials, which includes organic waste materials from food processing and feed production. The changes will enable those facilities to be regulated under the Nutrient Management Act.

That will lead to faster approval times and lower costs but environmental protection requirements will continue. The changes were effective Oct. 25. BF

Current Issue

June/July 2025

Better Farming Magazine

Farms.com Breaking News

Calf Auction Raises Funds for Youth

Monday, June 30, 2025

Wyatt Westman-Frijters from Milverton won a heifer calf named Ingrid through a World Milk Day promotion by Maplevue Farms and a local Perth, Ontario radio station. Instead of keeping the calf, 22-year-old Westman-Frijters chose to give back to the community. The calf was sent to the... Read this article online

Cattle Stress Tool May Boost Fertility

Friday, June 27, 2025

Kansas State University researchers have developed a cool tool that may help reduce cattle stress and improve artificial insemination (AI) results. The idea came from animal science experts Nicholas Wege Dias and Sandy Johnson, who observed that cattle accustomed to their environment... Read this article online

Ontario pasture lands get $5M boost

Friday, June 27, 2025

The governments of Canada and Ontario are investing up to $5 million to strengthen shared community grazing pastures. This funding supports the province’s plan to protect Ontario’s agriculture sector and help cattle farmers improve pasture quality, ensuring long-term sustainability and... Read this article online

Health Canada sets rules for drone spraying

Wednesday, June 25, 2025

Health Canada has approved the use of drones, also called Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS), for pesticide application under the Pest Control Products Act (PCPA). Drones are considered aircraft by Transport Canada, but Health Canada treats them differently due to their unique... Read this article online

BF logo

It's farming. And it's better.

 

a Farms.com Company

Subscriptions

Subscriber inquiries, change of address, or USA and international orders, please email: subscriptions@betterfarming.com or call 888-248-4893 x 281.


Article Ideas & Media Releases

Have a story idea or media release? If you want coverage of an ag issue, trend, or company news, please email us.

Follow us on Social Media

 

Sign up to a Farms.com Newsletter

 

DisclaimerPrivacy Policy2025 ©AgMedia Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Back To Top