Sask. minister says farm eggs allowed at farmers' markets after confusion
After confusion and concern over proposed food safety changes, Saskatchewan's Minister of Health has announced producers will not be required to grade their eggs when selling directly to Farmers' market consumers.
The directive comes after outcry from egg farmers. They worried proposed amendments to food safety regulations would prohibit them from selling farm eggs at such venues. That was followed by confusion about the province's standing rules.
Executive director Holly Laird of the Regina Farmers' Market (RFM) first sounded alarm bells on behalf of their vendors last week. They said the change would restrict local producers from selling farm eggs at markets as they always have.
A statement posted to RFM's social media channels following the minister's direction said the market is 'pleased' to see the province reconsidering.
'We are thrilled that the ministry has recognized the vital role farmers' markets play in the local food ecosystem,' said the post.
The amendments are to subsection 22 of the Food Safety Regulations Act. The changes are out for public feedback until April 16. The Ministry of Health said the changes are meant to provide clarity to the legislation.
When asked to address concerns they would restrict smaller farmers, the ministry said the changes would not alter any rules for producers, that Saskatchewan was already prohibiting the sale of ungraded eggs at markets.
But Laird said that's not how SHA or health inspectors have been operating. She noted RFM's inspector 'indicated that if the new regulations proceed as proposed, they will no longer be able to permit the sale of farm eggs at our market.
'We have worked closely with our public health inspector, who has approved egg sales at our market for as far back as anyone involved with the organization can remember,' said Laird in an interview last week. 'And my hope is that we may be caught up in an unintended consequence of making these changes.'
Saskatoon Farmers' Market, in an email to the Leader-Post, said it was also watching these regulatory changes closely for the same reason.
The Leader-Post wasn't able to get answers on the conflicting messages. The Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) deferred a request asking for the status of the rule changes back to the ministry.
Instead, a statement said engagement on the regulations is 'interested in making sure that we are meeting the public's expectations of food safety protections in this province.'
Pam Miller, of Miller's By-Gone Farms in Whitewood, Sask., said if she were to be barred from selling eggs as a market vendor, it would cut her business by about 40 per cent, and be a loss for both her and the customers who seek farm-fresh eggs each week.
Miller said Saskatchewan only has one egg-grading facility, located in Saskatoon. Due to travel and cost, she said it would be a barrier for farmers with flocks the size of hers to take small batches of eggs there for inspection.
'I'm allowed to sell those very same eggs to the public from my farm, so this is not a food safety issue at all. It's a government bureaucracy issue,' she said. 'If we're pushing for more local sales, for supporting local farmers, this is going in the opposite direction.'
RFM is now asking the Ministry of Health to write the minister's exemption formally into the Food Safety Regulations, in order to 'ensure ungraded farm eggs remain protected.'
'We want clear assurance that our small farmers and farmers' markets will be safeguarded under the new regulations,' said RFM's post.
lkurz@postmedia.com
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