{"id":5076,"date":"2026-05-05T06:33:38","date_gmt":"2026-05-05T06:33:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/canadafirst.nfshost.com\/?p=5076"},"modified":"2026-05-05T06:34:19","modified_gmt":"2026-05-05T06:34:19","slug":"5076","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/canadafirst.nfshost.com\/?p=5076","title":{"rendered":"China-Canada food safety pact could be a killer of a deal"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

China-Canada food safety pact could be a killer of a deal <\/h1>\n\n\n\n
\"National<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Patri\u00adcia adams Patri\u00adcia Adams, an eco\u00adnom\u00adist, is exec\u00adut\u00adive dir\u00adector of Probe Inter\u00adna\u00adtional, a China watch\u00addog.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

22 Apr 2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Janu\u00adary, Canada\u2019s Food Inspec\u00adtion Agency and China\u2019s cus\u00adtoms author\u00adity signed a memor\u00adandum of under\u00adstand\u00ading to enhance co-oper\u00ada\u00adtion on food safety and animal and plant health. Prime Min\u00adis\u00adter Mark Car\u00adney framed it as part of a bilat\u00aderal reset aim\u00ading for smoother trade. On paper, it estab\u00adlishes tech\u00adnical work\u00ading groups, inform\u00ada\u00adtion-shar\u00ading and bien\u00adnial meet\u00adings. In prac\u00adtice, it asks Cana\u00addian con\u00adsumers and reg\u00adu\u00adlat\u00adors to trust a food sys\u00adtem with a well-doc\u00adu\u00admented his\u00adtory of repeated, some\u00adtimes lethal, fail\u00adures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

China\u2019s food-related prob\u00adlems are neither ancient his\u00adtory nor isol\u00adated incid\u00adents. One in 10 meals con\u00adsumed in the coun\u00adtry is estim\u00adated to be cooked with \u201cgut\u00adter oil\u201d recycled from res\u00adtaur\u00adant waste and sew\u00aders. Cats are picked up from the streets and sold as pork or mut\u00adton for skew\u00aders and saus\u00adage stuff\u00ading. Cad\u00admium-con\u00adtam\u00adin\u00adated rice from pol\u00adluted regions like Hunan is com\u00admon. Weight-loss sup\u00adple\u00adments sold as \u201cnat\u00adural\u201d have con\u00adtained undeclared sibut\u00adram\u00adine, a banned drug linked to heart risks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The 2008 melamine scan\u00addal in infant for\u00admula killed at least six babies and sickened hun\u00addreds of thou\u00adsands, with offi\u00adcials delay\u00ading warn\u00adings to pro\u00adtect the Beijing Olympics\u2019 image. In 2014, expired and spoiled meat from a Shang\u00adhai sup\u00adplier reached major fast-food chains across Asia. In 2024, major grain and oil firms were exposed using uncleaned fuel tankers to trans\u00adport edible oils \u2014 a cost-cut\u00adting prac\u00adtice that had become routine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

More recently, over 200 chil\u00addren were hos\u00adpit\u00adal\u00adized after eat\u00ading lead-tain\u00adted food in a north\u00adw\u00adest China kinder\u00adgarten. Just last month, author\u00adit\u00adies found vendors were using kid\u00adney \u00adand liver-dam\u00adaging sed\u00adat\u00adives in fish trans\u00adport tanks to keep fish from los\u00ading scales, then telling their cus\u00adtom\u00aders the motion\u00adless fish were merely \u201csleep\u00ading.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

China\u2019s gov\u00adern\u00adment claims its food is bey\u00adond reproach, point\u00ading to its Food Safety Law (enacted in 2009, strengthened in 2015) and Pres\u00adid\u00adent Xi Jin\u00adping\u2019s \u201cFour Strict\u00adest\u201d require\u00adments: pre\u00adcise stand\u00adards, strict admin\u00adis\u00adtra\u00adtion, harsh account\u00adab\u00adil\u00adity and grave pun\u00adish\u00adment. On paper, pen\u00adal\u00adties include large fines, pun\u00adit\u00adive dam\u00adages, crim\u00adinal charges and even exe\u00adcu\u00adtion. But cor\u00adrup\u00adtion rules. The Com\u00admun\u00adist Party and those favoured by it freely dis\u00adreg\u00adard the legal sys\u00adtem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Enforce\u00adment is select\u00adive, driven more by polit\u00adical loy\u00adalty, GDP tar\u00adgets and social sta\u00adbil\u00adity than con\u00adsist\u00adent con\u00adsumer pro\u00adtec\u00adtion. Coverups are often shiel\u00added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If neces\u00adsary, pro\u00addu\u00adcers rebrand and relo\u00adcate, while high-pro\u00adfile crack\u00addowns can seem per\u00adform\u00adat\u00adive. Without an inde\u00adpend\u00adent judi\u00adciary and con\u00adstraints on Party power, food safety is not just a tech\u00adnical but a sys\u00adtemic gov\u00adernance fail\u00adure. Incent\u00adives to cut corners for profit under com\u00adpet\u00adit\u00adive and polit\u00adical pres\u00adsure endure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Those in priv\u00adileged pos\u00adi\u00adtions have for dec\u00adades avoided the foods most Chinese are resigned to eat. Since the 1960s, Com\u00admun\u00adist Party offi\u00adcials have sourced high-qual\u00adity, uncon\u00adtam\u00adin\u00adated, care\u00adfully tested \u201cspe\u00adcial pro\u00advi\u00adsion\u201d foods for them\u00adselves and their fam\u00adil\u00adies through the tegong sys\u00adtem of secret farms. Private com\u00adpan\u00adies also provide safe food for their employ\u00adees as perks. Fox\u00adconn runs its own tested, trace\u00adable farms to avoid pesti\u00adcides, heavy metals, para\u00adsites and other con\u00adtam\u00adin\u00adants in their com\u00adpany canteens.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cana\u00addians have reason for cau\u00adtion. Access to Inform\u00ada\u00adtion invest\u00adig\u00ada\u00adtions have revealed that between Janu\u00adary 2017 and early 2019, the Cana\u00addian Food Inspec\u00adtion Agency flagged nearly 900 ship\u00adments from China over con\u00adtam\u00adin\u00adants such as metals found in minced gar\u00adlic, gum\u00adballs and had\u00addock filets;<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

CHINA\u2019S FOOD-RELATED PROBLEMS ARE NEITHER ANCIENT HISTORY NOR ISOLATED INCIDENTS.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

glass in bam\u00adboo shoots and ses\u00adame paste noodles; para\u00adsites in wild cod filets; and heavy metals in candy. Aller\u00adgens, includ\u00ading pea\u00adnuts, were found in 584 products. And 85 cases involved \u201cProduct mis\u00adrep\u00adres\u00adent\u00ada\u00adtion\/authen\u00adti\u00adcity.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Des\u00adpite a pat\u00adtern of wide\u00adspread con\u00adtam\u00adin\u00ada\u00adtion, Canada denied entry to only four ship\u00adments. The U.S., which imports roughly 10 times as much food from China as Canada, refused entry to 1,828 Chinese ship\u00adments dur\u00ading the same period \u2014 more than 40 times as many. In the EU, China ranks first for food import safety alerts and refus\u00adals. Canada\u2019s rank\u00ading of China is not avail\u00adable because, unlike its coun\u00adter\u00adparts in other west\u00adern nations, the CFIA does not release com\u00adpre\u00adhens\u00adive data of its refus\u00adals of food imports.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Under the new MOU, Chinese-owned or joint-ven\u00adture oper\u00ada\u00adtions will func\u00adtion inside Canada, their sup\u00adply chains extend\u00ading back to China for ingredi\u00adents or meth\u00adods. Though laden with lan\u00adguage to reas\u00adsure Cana\u00addian trade nego\u00adti\u00adat\u00adors, the MOU does not magic\u00adally san\u00adit\u00adize those rela\u00adtion\u00adships. If a Cana\u00addian fact\u00adory sources addit\u00adives or raw mater\u00adi\u00adals through the same opaque net\u00adworks that pro\u00adduced gut\u00adter oil or melamine milk, Cana\u00addian con\u00adsumers will eat the risk.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

China-Canada food safety pact could be a killer of a deal Patri\u00adcia adams Patri\u00adcia Adams, an eco\u00adnom\u00adist, is exec\u00adut\u00adive dir\u00adector of Probe Inter\u00adna\u00adtional, a China watch\u00addog. 22 Apr 2026 In Janu\u00adary, Canada\u2019s Food Inspec\u00adtion Agency and China\u2019s cus\u00adtoms author\u00adity signed a memor\u00adandum of under\u00adstand\u00ading to enhance co-oper\u00ada\u00adtion on food safety and animal and plant health. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[3561,3562,3564,3563],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadafirst.nfshost.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5076"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadafirst.nfshost.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadafirst.nfshost.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadafirst.nfshost.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadafirst.nfshost.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5076"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/canadafirst.nfshost.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5076\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5079,"href":"https:\/\/canadafirst.nfshost.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5076\/revisions\/5079"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadafirst.nfshost.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5076"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadafirst.nfshost.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5076"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadafirst.nfshost.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5076"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}