Office of the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food
Cabinet du Ministre de l’Agriculture et de l’Agroalimentaire
Ottawa, Canada K1A 0C5

Quote: 538349
Jun 11 2001

Mr. Gregory Peterson
426 Christopher Road
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan S7J 3S2

Dear Mr. Peterson:

Thank you for your e-mail of April 26, 2001, in which you asked if the 50-lb. bag restriction for potatoes shipped to the U.S. also applies to other Canadian vegetable products. Please be assured that your letter has been brought to the Minister’s attention, and he has asked me to provide you with the following information.

This restriction applies only to potatoes grown in Prince Edward Island. The U.S. Department of Agriculture imposed this restriction because of the presence of potato wart virus in that province. This requirement does not apply to any other fruit or vegetable commodity shipped from anywhere else in Canada.

Standard container sizes are prescribed in the Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Regulations for beets, carrots, onions, parsnips, potatoes, and rutabagas. These container sizes were established prior to the mandatory requirement for metric labelling in Canada. Industry packaging machinery, therefore, was set up to accommodate imperial package sizes. To reduce the financial burden associated with converting this machinery, imperial sizes were maintained. However, the requirement to show both sizes on the packaging was introduced.

You may wish to relay your concerns regarding metric size containers to the Canadian Horticultural Council (CHC), as it represents Canadian growers and packers. It is my understanding that the CHC welcomes consumer input about preferences in the marketplace. The CHC is located at the following address:

310 - 1101 Prince of Wales Drive
Ottawa, Ontario K2C 3W7

Telephone: (613) 226-4187
Facsimile: (613) 226-2984

I trust this information will be of assistance. Again, thank you for writing to the Minister on this matter.

Yours sincerely,

<signed>

Steve Dunnigan
Departmental Assistant