Modernization of Regulation 384 – Honey
Regulation Number(s):
Regulation 384
Instrument Type:
Act
Bill or Act:
Farm Products Grades and Sales Act
Summary of Decision:
Regulation 119/11 was established under the Food Safety and Quality Act, 2001 to replace Regulation 384- Honey. The new regulation harmonizes packing, packaging and labelling requirements with federal legislation where appropriate. It adopts federal quality standards and introduces mandatory provincial grade names using the word "Ontario" instead of the word "Canada" as a prefix. The regulation clarifies food safety standards and continues to provide the ministry with tools to protect industry and the public against misrepresentation. The effective date for the new regulation is July 1, 2011 with a two-year phase-in period for the implementation of the new grade names.
Further Information:
Proposal Number:
10-AFRA008
Posting Date:
June 22, 2010
Summary of Proposal:
The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA) is seeking feedback on its proposal to modernize and replace Regulation 384 - Honey, which is established under the Farm Products Grades and Sales Act.
The Ontario government's Open for Business strategy is an ongoing plan to make government faster and friendlier for businesses. One part of the strategy is the government's commitment to reducing the amount of regulation in Ontario by 25 per cent. The proposed Honey regulation would allow the ministry to eliminate the regulatory burdens related to standardized container sizes and continue to focus on food safety and economic fraud protection.
Proposal
OMAFRA is proposing to establish a new regulation under the Food Safety and Quality Act, 2001 to replace the existing Honey regulation. The proposed regulation would clarify the food safety standards that would apply to honey, retain the economic fraud measures in the existing regulation and harmonize the labelling requirements with the federal requirements where appropriate.
The Ministry is seeking feedback on whether to eliminate the grade standards for honey or to adopt the federal grade standards and whether to make their use mandatory or optional. If the preference was to adopt the federal grade standards the "Canada" prefix in the grade name would be replaced with the word "Ontario".
The Ministry is also seeking feedback on whether to eliminate the packing and packaging standards for honey in the existing regulations or to require compliance with the federal standards.
Contact Address:
Wayne Patterson
Legislative and Regulatory Food safety Policy Coordinator
Food Safety and Environmental Policy Branch
1 Stone Rd W, 2nd Floor SW, Guelph ON N1G4Y2
Email: wayne.patterson@ontario.ca
Phone: 519-826-4599
Fax: 519-826-3492
Royal Assent Date:
July 1, 2011
Decision:
Approved