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Hepatitis A outbreak linked to organic strawberries

Cases reported in two provinces, three states

Washington | Reuters –– Food safety regulators in both Canada and the U.S. are investigating a hepatitis A outbreak potentially linked to tainted organic strawberries that has sickened 17 people in the U.S. and 10 in Canada, the agencies said. Fifteen illnesses were reported in California, and one each in Minnesota and North Dakota, the […] Read more


File photo of Canadian farm-grown blueberries. (LittleCityLifestylePhotography/iStock/Getty Images)

Prizes put up to develop year-round berry production in Canada

Weston Foundation's new challenge backed with $33 million

A philanthropic foundation focused on improving public health now wants to improve diets by finding ways to juice up Canada’s home-grown fruit supplies. The Weston Family Foundation on Tuesday pledged $33 million over six years for what it calls the Homegrown Innovation Challenge, a prize challenge pitting ideas against ideas with the goal of extending […] Read more

File photo of elderberries. (DedMityay/iStock/Getty Images)

Smoothie cubes pulled for raw elderberry use

Quebec company's 'Immunity' smoothies under recall; illnesses reported

Federal food safety officials say a Quebec company’s new line of frozen smoothie cubes, sold online, is being recalled over its use of raw elderberries and a resulting potential risk of cyanide poisoning. Montreal-based Evive Nutrition, known in part for its pitch on CBC TV’s Dragons’ Den in 2019, is recalling its Evive brand Immunity […] Read more


(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

Canada resists pressure to drop vaccine mandate for cross-border truckers

Ottawa | Reuters — Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is pushing ahead with a vaccine mandate for international truckers despite increasing pressure from critics who say it will exacerbate driver shortages and drive up the price of goods imported from the United States. Canada will require all truckers entering from the U.S. to show proof […] Read more

(Scott Bauer photo courtesy ARS/USDA)

U.S. trade body rules blueberry imports do not harm industry

Canada among top five nations selling blueberries into U.S.

Washington/Mexico City | Reuters — The U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) ruled on Thursday that blueberry imports are not causing serious injury to domestic producers and will not recommend further action to reduce foreign supplies, in a win for berry exporters. In recent years, U.S. producers have claimed damages from what they argue are unfair […] Read more


File photo of an Ontario cherry orchard. (UpdogDesigns/iStock/Getty Images)

Ontario extends lost-labour production insurance

COVID-related coverage held over for 2021 program year

A temporary expansion of Ontario’s AgriInsurance program, to cover losses caused by COVID-19-related short-handedness on the farm, will be held over. The province and federal government on Dec. 22 announced the expansion of coverage will be extended to cover the 2021 program year — and that it will insure production of “additional commodities.” Further details […] Read more

Agricultural workers gather on Dec. 2, 2020, whilst blocking the Panamericana Sur highway at Villacuri, Peru, during a protest over a long-standing but controversial agrarian law. (Photo: Reuters/Sebastian Castaneda)

Peru farm protests grip country, turn deadly

'There are no harvests, there is nothing'

Lima | Reuters — Protests by farm workers demanding better wages in Peru raged on for a fourth day Thursday, spreading north into key agricultural areas of the Andean nation, derailing harvests of some crops, snarling transport of produce and leaving at least one dead. Peruvian interim President Francisco Sagasti called the death of a […] Read more


Heirloom Melon de Montreal was cultivated until 1905 in Notre-Dame-de-Grâce, on the foothills of Mount Royal.

Ted nominates this melon from the garden as his favourite of 2020

Plus, info on some insect pests and a recipe for bannock

Lots to talk about so I shall keep my intro to the point. Subject matter includes my successful venture with planting and growing Melon de Montreal. There’s a gardener near Rapid City that found little white worms in her raspberries and I, Ted, suspect that other gardeners may have also been challenged with the same […] Read more

Officials at the Aug. 13, 2020 rollout of the federal surplus food program included (l-r) Julie Marchand of Food Banks of Quebec, Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau, Claude Dulude of Nutri Group, Marie-Jose Mastromonaco of Second Harvest, Tania Little of Food Banks Canada and Serge Lefebvre of Nutri Group. (Photo courtesy Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada)

Feds line up projects for surplus food program

NGOs backed to gather, distribute 12 million kg of food

The federal government has lined up eight projects to source and distribute perishable produce, meat, eggs and seafood piling up across Canada due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As part of the federal pandemic response, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced in early May that Ottawa would budget $50 million for a food surplus purchase program. The […] Read more