CFIA Declares War On My Fave British Imports

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I love my local British store, Across The Pond in Hamilton, I pop in every few weeks to buy those things that after ten years in Canada, I still can’t live without.  That is, until last year, when I walked in and went to the usual spot for my pack of Penguins and they were not there.  I grew up with Penguins in my lunchbox, the terrible but funny jokes on the back (like What is a penguins favourite game? Slide & Seek) and the p-pick up a penguin advertisements on TV.   I asked when he would have them back in stock only to be told they would not, Canada has banned them for having too much calcium for a snack (oh and because our definition of chocolate differs, he needs to put a sticker saying “candy covered cookie bars filled with chocoate (candy?) flavoured cream”.  Errrr I am pretty sure I just watched the Chief Medical Officer say that Canadians do not eat enough calcium.

Now even more have been added to the list of items the CFIA declare war on, Ovaltine, Marmite (ok I hate Marmite – and you are now singing the Marmite song, admit it!) has been are enriched with vitamins and minerals which is a huge no-no according to Canada along with Lucozade which I was given when I was sick. Irn-Bru drink has a food colouring which is not used in Canada, therefore it needs to be banned, even though they admit it poses no threat to health.

The CFIA claim they are not banned, just under investigation but all four of the British stores I shop at are worried about their imports getting stopped.  They are all small stores and one big shipment being held at import means that they could close down.

I am with Nigel Westwick who was quoted in the BBC News:

“I couldn’t understand the insanity of stopping it coming into Canada, to be honest,” Westwick said. “For a country that allows one to buy firearms, guns, bullets, stopping a soft drink suitable for all ages seems a little ludicrous.”

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