'Product of Canada' label misleading: Consumer

(CBC) - A Charlottetown shopper recently found that food labelled "Product of Canada" didn't necessarily originate here at home.

On a recent visit to the canned fruit and vegetable aisle, Jenny Likely came across different brands of mandarin oranges.

Because of recent recalls on Chinese products like pet food and seafood, Likely said she avoided the cans that said they were from China.

"I like to buy Canadian if I can't buy it local and I will avoid if I can anything from China because of the problems that we've heard about," Likely said.

She bought a jar of mandarin oranges labelled "Product of Canada," but wanted to follow up and called the company.

"I really didn't think that we grew mandarin oranges in Canada, and lo and behold, no, these mandarin oranges come from China," she said.

But the word "China" wasn't on the label.

CBC Radio contacted the company that packaged the oranges, and a spokesperson said it could take a day or two to confirm where the oranges originated.

But it doesn't matter. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency said the fruit could still be legally labelled "Product of Canada" as long as the product is re-processed in this country, with at least 51 per cent Canadian labour and/or materials.

Consumers deserve more details on the label, Likely said.

"We have all these labels for everything else, such as energy and cholesterol. One of the basic things is where they were grown," she said.

The CFIA said it investigates about 600 complaints about labels every year.