by SUSAN MANN
The Mucci greenhouse operation, convicted and fined $1.5 million in a Windsor court Monday for labelling and selling imported vegetables as Canadian product, may face additional sanctions, only this time from the Ontario Greenhouse Vegetable Growers organization.
Mucci International Marketing Inc. and Mucci Pac Ltd., along with company directors, general manager Danny Mucci and Joseph Spano, vice president of sales, were convicted in the Ontario Court of Justice for violating federal packaging and labelling laws. The eight counts the companies and their directors were convicted of were for contravening sections of three separate federal acts.
The acts are: the Food and Drugs Act, the Consumer Packaging and Labelling Act and the Canada Agricultural Products Act. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency is responsible for administering and enforcing them.
In addition to the fine, Mucci and Spano were sentenced to three years of probation.
UPDATE: June 16 2016 — The fine levied against Mucci International Marketing Inc., Mucci Pac Ltd. and two company directors for mislabelling and selling imported produce as Canadian is the largest for greenhouse operations that have been convicted in the past 15 years, according to a Canadian Food Inspection Agency spokesperson.
Previous fines for other greenhouse operations ranged from $1,500 to $10,000, says Suzi Beck by email.
For Mucci, it has 90 days to pay the fine to the receiver general of Canada, she says. A portion of the fines goes to the province for administering the provincial court system. Beck didn’t say how much of the fine is earmarked for Ontario. END OF UPDATE
The Kingsville-area Mucci farm, with more than 400 acres of greenhouses and about 1,200 full-time employees, is an Ontario Greenhouse Vegetable Growers licensed marketer. In a June 7 press release, the greenhouse vegetable growers organization said it views the convictions as serious and will be reviewing the evidence presented in the case.
The organization will take “whatever actions we deem appropriate to protect our sector, our producers and consumers,” the release said.
Rick Seguin, greenhouse vegetable growers general manager, said by email he can’t comment on what actions the organization could take against the company “until the board has had a chance to review in detail all of the facts from the case.”
The Mucci companies’ and officials’ mislabelling actions could have widespread repercussions on the greenhouse industry.
“Incorrectly labelling imported product as being Ontario product not only misleads consumers, but also negates the investment that Ontario producers make every day into producing a superior product to meet consumer demands,” the greenhouse growers release says.
Seguin said it was too early to say if the Mucci actions damaged the industry.
“We go to great lengths to ensure our product is differentiated in the market and to make sure consumers are aware of the advantages.”
Seguin added he believes consumers recognize “and appreciate the high quality, safe produce that comes from Ontario greenhouse vegetable producers.”
CFIA said in a June 7 press release the two Mucci companies pleaded guilty to three counts each for contravening sections of the three acts related to packaging and labelling greenhouse peppers, tomatoes and cucumbers “in a manner which misrepresented the country of origin.”
Mucci and Spano each pleaded guilty to an offence under a section of the Canada Agricultural Products Act for marketing and misrepresenting produce.
CFIA laid the charges in July 2014 after an investigation “substantiated widespread misrepresentation of imported greenhouse vegetables as product of Canada,” the release said.
Mucci Pac Ltd. packaged the mislabelled product, and Mucci International Marketing Inc. sold it to retailers over a 15-month time period, the release said.
Spano declined to comment when contacted by phone Wednesday morning, only saying their statement was contained in a June 7 written press release.
In the release, Spano and Mucci said their companies and employees cooperated fully with the CFIA investigation, during which mistakes were uncovered.
“We take responsibility for these mistakes and have promised to make every reasonable effort to ensure that it (produce mislabelling) does not occur in the future,” Mucci said.
Spano said the regulatory offences, which they agreed to accept, “impose penalties for mistakes. Companies are required to be diligent in their operations and not make mistakes. The reality is in most large businesses, quite unintentionally, mistakes are made.”
The Food and Drugs Act and the Consumer Packaging and Labelling Act prohibit selling and advertising food in a false or misleading manner, and labelling or selling packaged food products containing false or misleading statements. The Canada Agricultural Products Act prohibits marketing imported produce that isn’t labelled according to Fresh Fruit and Vegetable regulations, including having the proper country of origin information, the CFIA release said. The regulations define the country of origin as the country where the produce was grown. BF
Comments
This story goes hand in hand with other news storylines lately on how organized crime has flooded the agricultural sector with counterfeit foods.
Gov of Ont with their buy local buy fresh has help in the crime spree . So many times the Ontario Good things Grow signs are never moved or taken down in stores . Trick the consumer into thinking that every thing in their store is grown locally or from Ontario
Or with how Gov is running the province .
Our own Butch Clares and William Obronts, both of tainted meat notoriety, give more cause for concern than so-called "organized crime", a term that could also easily apply to supply management, given its legislated extortative power over consumers.
Stephen Thompson, Clinton ON
Other than the far-left wing of society (protectionists) and food purists, the average consumer, including myself, couldn't care less where any food originates as long as it meets CFIA safety standards. Add that to the normal confusion arising when:
(A) something (tomatoes) leaves Canada to be made into catsup in the US and then returns to Canada as a product of the US
(B) imported tomatoes come into Canada to be made into catsup here and labelled as a product of Canada.
and one wonders what the fuss is really all about - was any of this food impure? was any of it rotten? was any of it at all risky for consumers to eat?
As far as I'm concerned, the CFIA should be spending less time on this and more time taking issue with supply management's oft-repeated and completely-misleading claims that supply management ensures the safety of dairy and poultry products as if the CFIA didn't even exist.
Stephen Thompson, Clinton ON
I am starting to sense, Mr. Thomspon, that you might have a wee problem concerning Supply Management. As a former Pres. of a local OFA organization, would it not be more prudent for you to support ALL types of agricultural enterprises?
I have been off this forum for several months due to the repeated negativity towards Supply Management and Chicken farmers of Ontario & small flock chicken producers .......and can you believe it is the same old thing!!!
At least I am not reading about the many benefits of Practical Farmers of Ontario.....where are they these days?
Stan Holmes
Mr. Holmes can't deal with the fact that anything positive said or written about supply management is unsupported/unsupportable hype designed to defend quota owners at the expense of consumers and non-supply managed farmers.
Supply management does do an excellent job of transferring massive amounts of wealth from poor consumers to rich farmers - other than that, it does NOTHING well at all.
Stephen Thompson, Clinton ON
well Stephen ....you make it sound so easy to be a dairy farmer or chicken producer.
Stan Holmes
I do support all types of agricultural enterprises but I detest it when some agricultural enterprises, particularly supply management, have an unfair advantage over others because of legislative entitlement.
I am a Past President of the Huron County Federation of Agriculture, but that does not prevent me, nor should it prevent me, from being a strident advocate for those people who feel the Huron Federation of Agriculture does NOT represent them, and that is a LOT of people.
I do have a personal, ethical and professional problem with supply management because it has fractured the agricultural community along age and sector lines, thereby making agriculture a poisoned environment for all.
I know I'm on the right track because for every anonymous nay-sayer on this site, I continually average about ten people who contact me privately to tell me I'm completely right and, if anything, I don't go far enough in my criticisms of supply management.
My postings on this site and elsewhere have confirmed that the wretched excesses of supply management have angered a lot of people in the farm community - the victims of supply management, particularly those under the age of 40, have bitten their tongues so-far, but won't forever. Supply management has few friends, and they will flee quickly when push comes to shove.
Stephen Thompson, Clinton ON
The Mucci companies are to pay a heavy price for deceiving the consumer, yet, as noted by columnist, Don Cayo, in the Vancouver Sun a few years ago, a large BC egg processor, a large share of which is owned by BC egg farmers, imported over 900,000 dozen eggs from the US in 2011 for table consumption and sold them, in Canada, at cost-of-production Canadian prices, and probably advertised them as Canadian eggs - thereby making the Mucci family and companies look like boy-scouts by comparison.
While Mucci only misled the consumer, BC egg farmers, all at the same time:
(A) deceived BC consumers,
(B) ripped off BC consumers by charging usurious cost-of-production prices for something bought on the open market
(C) simultaneously ran advertising campaigns to try to persuade BC consumers to buy their eggs in BC.
Why, therefore, is marketing skulduggery swept under the table when done by supply management, but when done by anyone else, they pay a heavy price?
More to the point, if Mucci was a BC egg processor owned, in significant part, by BC egg farmers, there would probably have been no charges laid.
Stephen Thompson, Clinton ON
So just how does justice work with Gov. ? It sure is expensive for the people and non existent for Gov . We keep paying and never gain any thing . Biggest problem is we can't seem to enforce the rules that are supposed to be there to protect us .
really???
There is a reason those packing plant doors are locked with security cameras,conviction was surprise,that happening,everyone in the greenhouse industry knew about it
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