December 24, 2012, Guelph: On September 20, a conviction was registered in the Ontario Court of Justice in Hamilton against New Sun Bakery Distributors Inc., of Stoney Creek, Ontario. This conviction resulted in a fine of $7,500. The company has also sent a letter of apology to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) inspector, for the way she was treated while doing her inspection work.
On May 17, 2010 CFIA inspectors placed under detention all Hi Five Meal Replacement cookies, labels and packaging made by New Sun Bakery Distributors Inc., because the product did not comply with the requirements of the Food and Drugs Regulations. This was in relation to the compositional and labelling requirements for meal replacement products. The CFIA inspectors returned on May 31, 2010 and found that some of the detained packaging had been disposed of without the prior consent of the inspector, thereby contravening Section 24(2) of the Food and Drugs Act.
The CFIA is responsible for enforcing a variety of federal legislation, including the Food and Drugs Act. One of the tools an inspector uses to bring a product into compliance is seizure and detention. Detentions must be respected by regulated parties at all times. Disregard for an inspector's authority undermines the federal inspection system, put in place to protect consumers. Under the Food and Drugs Act, it is an offence to remove, alter or interfere, with anything seized by an inspector.
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