Calgary food company mislabelled Chinese peas

Last Updated: Monday, August 27, 2007 | 8:57 PM ET

CBC News

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency is investigating a Calgary food packaging company that used labels indicating a shipment of peas was from Canada, when the legumes were actually imported from China.

The label on a bag of peas purchased in Manitoba indicates the product was packaged in Calgary.
(CBC)

Mary Macdonald, who lives in Winnipeg Beach, Man., bought a bag of peas confident they came from Calgary, as the sticker indicated. But when she peeled off the top label, she discovered another one.

"In fact, they're actually a product of China, and that part was covered up," Macdonald said. "I felt really annoyed."

All the improperly labelled products have been pulled from stores.

Another sticker under the label on a bag of peas bought in Manitoba shows the peas are in fact a product of China.
(CBC)

Macdonald said she was concerned about a potential coverup.

"China has been on the media quite a bit, and we've been hearing that maybe things aren't produced quite as safely as we're used to here in Canada," she said.

Canadian law requires produce grown outside Canada's borders to say so on the label. Violators can face severe fines and even prosecution.

Macdonald said she was angry because she felt "the consumer was being tricked" in this case, but the company responsible for the blunder, Calgary-based Thomas Fresh Inc., said it was simply a mixup.

"That was an oversight," said company president Tom Byttynen. "My gang is used to having our labels say 'Product of China' on it. Unfortunately, they used old labels that did not say 'Product of China.' There was no malintent in anything there."

The CFIA says labelling problems are not uncommon. The agency investigates an average of 600 cases per year.