Meat producers in the NWT may soon have new opportunities to sell their products locally thanks to proposed new regulations.
The territorySA国际影视传媒檚 Department of Health and Social Services is asking for public feedback on new rules that would allow private meat producers to sell their products directly to consumers in the territory through restaurants, farmers markets, farm gate sales and other similar outlets. The proposed regulations are laid out in a discussion paper prepared for the consultation.
SA国际影视传媒淭oday, a permit under the Food Establishment Regulations is required to sell food and that food must be liable to inspection unless otherwise exempted under the regulations,SA国际影视传媒� the paper reads. SA国际影视传媒淭here is no current mechanism to inspect meat from locally raised animals, and therefore it may not be sold to the public.SA国际影视传媒�
The territory had meat safety regulations in the past, but they were repealed in 2009, in large part because there were no slaughterhouses or processing facilities in the territory.
The new rules would not apply to the sale of wild game, fish or reindeer.
Despite the promise of new regulations, the NWTSA国际影视传媒檚 unique situation might not make it possible to inspect all locally-produced meat.
SA国际影视传媒淐reating meat safety regulations in the Northwest Territories presents a unique challenge, given the small size and scale of meat producers compared to most jurisdictions in Canada,SA国际影视传媒� the paper reads. SA国际影视传媒淩egulations in the NWT will need to allow for some flexibility for small producers to slaughter and distribute uninspected meat for sale direct to consumers and/or retailers within the NWT, while ensuring all necessary operational and safety standards are followed and public health is protected.SA国际影视传媒�
Among the questions put forth by the paper, the document asks if consumers would be comfortable buying meat that hasnSA国际影视传媒檛 been inspected, and how they would like to be informed by vendors that their meat hasnSA国际影视传媒檛 been inspected.
The paper proposes a framework based on permits, where producers could purchase a permit to slaughter and handle meat that would last a few weeks, a season, or a whole year.
The Department of Health and Social Services is accepting public comments until Feb. 22. Comments can be emailed to meatsafetyregs@gov.nt.ca.
