Canada’s Egg Sector to Benefit from a National Quality Assurance Program

April 30, 2014 – Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz has announced an investment of over $100,000 to Egg Farmers of Canada  (EFC) to integrate its existing assurance systems into a single system that will be known as the National Quality Code for eggs.

The streamlined National Quality Code program will provide egg producers and graders with an all-in-one certification program that addresses food safety, traceability and animal care. Once implemented, the code could enhance the competitiveness of the poultry sector by strengthening its capacity to make credible and verifiable claims.

This investment is being made through the Assurance Systems stream of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s (AAFC’s) AgriMarketing Program, a five-year, up to $341-million initiative under Growing Forward 2.  This project builds on funding previously provided to Egg Farmers of Canada through AAFC’s Canadian Integrated Food Safety Initiative to develop the Canadian Egg Industry Traceability System.

Peter Clarke, Egg Farmers of Canada chairman, said in a release that EFC is “extremely pleased to receive funding from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada for the development of a National Quality Code for eggs. Through this project, and in collaboration with our egg boards and supply chain partners, we hope to deepen the preference Canadians already have for Canadian eggs by raising the bar on excellence across the pillars of food safety, traceability and animal care.”