Pickles

[hlg]

Co-op Gold pickles come from India. Has it got to the point we can`t compete with a producer half way around the world? It just seems wrong for "OUR" co-op to import pickles.

[Hopperbin]

And no one has time to make their own???

[Hopperbin]

Parsley you should be selling pickles. Nothing like mom's pickles. And parsley I am not calling you mom.

[dalek]

Wife's pickling asparagus this weekend. Dill yesterday, sweet today.

[ProFarmer]

Federated co-op is one of the worst importer around they hid behind the label <prepared for federated co-op ltd.> then they don't tell you where it was made.

[ProFarmer]

federated co-op label says . Prepared for federated co-op but not in which country it was produced

[parsley]

hopper, do I somehow remind you of your mother? LOL

(Lots of neighbors used to can fulltime for my market barn.)

Labelling becomes important.

How do you know what food standards are exacted in India? Perhaps India had the pickles grown in another country and imported them, and then pickled them in barrels and then exported them to Canada to be be put in jars.

Your food and it's preparation is IMPORTANT.

[Hopperbin]

I have seen what the water looks like that goes onto some of these crops first hand. You may not want to eat foods that come from those countries. The food may taste good and at the same time loaded with toxic chemicals.

[wmoebis]

The problem is. Families today on the most part don't have time to preserve food. Hell most hardly have time to go shopping or cook properly. Listen to the complaining at line ups at the till.

If one spouse stays at home the tax implications to the family force her back to work. Where as if she could claim it as a job and an expense to the family, it might work.

If I am going to bake or prosess meat or food at home, for sale to help recover costs. My facilities have to be gov't inspected. My costs go up and stores import cheaper than I can sell for. Unless I can supply a full line up of food, people don't have time to come to me for a couple jars of pickles and to you for a pound af hamburger and to someone else for a bun just so they can have a fresh burger for lunch.

Yes farmers markets and such are great but the majority of producers can't be involved and they would have to run 365 days to compete with super markets and they would under cut you any how. Remember our cheap food policy.

I'm not saying it does't work all the time but for the most producers and comsumers it is not an option. We shop farmers markets when ever we can but that seems like we have time about once or twice a year. Maybe I'm not an average shopper but I think I am.

I think we should get flour mills and pasta mills going localy and become a flour and semolina exporting nation instead of a wheat exporter. Every elevator should have a mill attached to it and we get paid for flour not wheat.

[Fransisco]

I don't see a problem with pickles from India. We sell them all sorts of food as well. Why is it so many people have this ridiculous idea that trade should just be a one way street.

[frustrated1]

It's not so much the trade with food, it's safety and quality. In many cases food is allowed into our country without the same stringent conditions the CFIA puts on food produced here. If you were to produce pickles for mass market you would have to have an inspected facility and quality control. I don't believe our imported foods have the same standards and it seems to me they can use some smoke and mirrors and fine print to get around some of the issues. Quality control in India may be a lot different than in Canada for example. So, they were inspected; by whom? for what? the lids were on?

[Fransisco]

You don't trust food from another country then just don't buy food from another country.

[btjadenlepp]

i heard a news report on cbc last year
about those pickles from india and how
they were stealing market share from
local producers. it boils down to cost.
labour cost obviously.

my own efforts in the gardening and
canning department have far more to do
with pressure from my grandma and
mother-in-law than concerns about food
safety. for that matter i'd trust a
store-bought pickle far more my own
half-botched efforts, at least at this
stage. i'm also worried that it's going
to be a lost art someday and pretty soon
there won't be anyone left to teach us
how to do it, and sure as anything that
will be when we need it.

plus i just kind of enjoy the work. and
it sets a great example for the kids.

the last thing it has to do with is
saving money. there is nothing cheap
about preparing your own food, or
shopping at farmers markets for that
matter, not when there's a costco
anywhere nearby.

[Fransisco]

A lost art at our house is making popcorn. But I don't miss it one bit, the microwave stuff is far more convenient and in my opinion tastier.