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LABEL
CLAIMS
access to shrubbery. The farmers felt
that the label claim implied the ability
to forage outside.
The large variety of label claims and
their differing interpretations have
created a marketplace without a great
deal of coherence and led to the
spread of misconceptions.
Continued misconceptions
While some companies like True
Foods have transparently provided
specific information about their label
claims, misconceptions about some
claims made by other companies
remain among farmers and consum-
ers. For example, one misconception
involves the issue of hormones and
farm products.
The CFIA notes on its website that
“in cases where the use of hormones
is prohibited or not authorized, the
claim ‘raised without the use of added
hormones’ may be considered
misleading as it creates false unique-
ness between similar products.” (To
its credit, True Foods recognizes this
misconception as an issue on its
website.)
In other words, consumers could
think that the pork loin they just
bought and paid a premium for is free
of added hormones, whereas others
are not.
Many consumers also do not know
just how much work has been done to
improve hog farming, particularly
regarding the use of antibiotics, in the
past couple of years. While some
consumers may think that they need
to buy “antibiotic free” pork products
to obtain meat from farmers who use
antimicrobials responsibly, this belief
is not necessarily true.
The Canadian Pork Council, for
example, noted in its 2015 publication
that despite the fact that “today’s
farms by necessity raise more animals
than those in the past,” Canadian
pork farmers are working hard to
“produce safe food while reducing the
need for antibiotics.”
The industry is working to “devel-
True Foods, part of the Grand Valley Fortifiers group of companies, is located in Cambridge, Ont.