Beware of fake Taber corn, Alberta producers warn

If you think you're putting Taber corn on your dinner table — some corn producers and distributors say you should think again.

Right now several roadside vendors in the Edmonton area are selling Taber corn, but others say it's not from Taber, a town about 260 kilometres southeast of Calgary, known for hot sunny days and cool nights that corn growers say give their harvest a sweet, distinct flavour.

Cody Crutcher, the general manager of Mitchell Sales in Edmonton, which operates 45 Taber corn stands in central and northern Alberta, told CBC News that fake Taber corn has been sold on Edmonton streets for years.

Crutcher said his company doesn't sell anything but the real thing, and he hasn't sold any yet this season, because it's not ready.

"I think the public's being misled," Crutcher said. "If there is Taber corn available, we would be on the streets with it.

"It would be a miracle if there's some farmers producing in the Taber area that the other guys — [producers] Jensen and Valgardson and so on, Shimbashi — aren't aware of.

Comes with certificate

"And they must have micro weather that would somehow permit their corn to be ready ahead of the other guys who have been in business for 25 and 30 years and so on."

David Jensen, a Taber corn producer, and the president of the Alberta Corn Growers Association, said authentic Taber corn comes with a certificate listing the farm's name and phone number.

He advises consumers to look for that certificate before buying any corn.

Calls to the distributor who oversees vendors claiming to sell Taber corn were not returned.