Why buy Canadian? Canadian farmers and food processors bring some amazing food products to your table. Whether it's a sizzling steak on your barbeque, pork chops oozing with apple sauce or succulent fresh fish with wild rice for dinner, there is a huge variety of Canadian food to explore!

Now, the Government of Canada has developed a labeling program to help consumers understand claims that labels make about Canadian content in our food products. When consumers see the Canada brand logo on a product label, they can be sure it contains Canadian ingredients or was made in Canada.

Of particular interest to the discerning food processor, this new labeling program is certain to increase market share of Canadian food products as consumers look for the stylized red maple leaf, accompanied by a statement identifying the content or process that makes the product Canadian. Such statements could include:

• "Product of Canada" means that all or nearly all of the major ingredients, processing and labour used to make the product are Canadian.
• "Made in Canada from domestic and imported ingredients" and "Made in Canada from imported ingredients" mean just what they say.
• "Processed in Canada," "Prepared in Canada" or similar statements tell you the product was made in Canada to meet Canada's stringent regulations. It may contain imported ingredients or a blend of Canadian and imported ingredients.
• Other statements, such as "Made with 100% Canadian strawberries," tell you exactly which ingredients in the product are Canadian.

For information on Canadian branding options that may be available for your business contact Precision Label and Tag.

- Brian Weller, President of Precision Label and Tag Inc.