Halal Hen Hoax

Ramadan will conclude in another 4 days, but has been marked by slimy people who commit or enable a Halal Hoax for chicken, or other meats.

Halal is an Arabic word meaning "lawful" or "permissible" (the opposite of haraam, which means "unlawful" or "forbidden").

While people fast during the days of Ramadan, they also have to watch out for fake Halal meats at night.

Global News previously reported on fake Halal meats in Canada:

“Halal is really important to uphold a Muslim’s spirituality, the acceptance of our worship in the eyes of God is dependent on it, that we’re only consuming Halal,” says Omar Subedar, a Toronto-area imam who serves as the secretary general and official spokesperson of the Halal Monitoring Authority ("HMA").
. . .

Subedar says that revelations from [a prior] investigation led to the formation of the HMA, which maintains a comprehensive listing of Halal-certified producers, brands and restaurants.
The next step for Subedar and his fellow imams is to  create an official, national governing body to regulate the certification of Halal products.

There is a growing Muslim population in Canada, especially around Toronto and the GTA.  Lack of supply and demanding customers entices the unscrupulous to buy or create fake Halal meats.

Some feel that Halal is solely concerned about the killing process.  Others believe that the entire life cycle of the animal is important, culminated with the proper prayer and process at the abattoir.  If you are looking for "best in class" animal welfare, you may be interested in small flock pasture raised chicken.  Check out the Mission, Vision, and Principles of SFPFC.  We believe these Principles of SFPFC are clear, open, comprehensive, and effective; unlike the secret, voluntary compliance or non-compliance, ambiguous, superficial, unverified, conflicting, or non-existent principles of the commercial chicken producers in Ontario (see CFO), and Canada-wide (see CFC). 

HMA reported:

"In March 2004 the Jami’yyatul Ulama Canada (CCMT) received complaints from the muslim community and from certain individuals from the halal industry that many things within the industry are not in compliance with halal guidelines. Subsequently, the Halal Foods Department carried out inspections in 4 meat slaughter plants, 13 poultry slaughter plants, 7 further processing plants and several meat & poultry retailers, all of which are the major suppliers of halal consumables within the GTA."

The HMA's certification trademark that will be on the label
of all foods certified by HMA

Any meat products must come from animals which have undergone a prescribed method of slaughtering (known as dhabihah) in order to be considered halal.

In brief, the Halal method of slaughtering animals consists of using a well sharpened knife to make a swift, deep incision that cuts the front of the throat, the carotid artery, wind pipe and jugular veins but leaves the spinal cord intact. The blood is to be completely drained from the body before its meat is cut. The head of an animal that is slaughtered using halal methods is aligned with the qiblah (ie. facing Mecca).  In addition to the direction, permitted animals should be slaughtered in the name of Allah (the Lord) and the person who is slaughtering should be a Muslim and he/she should be in a good mental condition and faith. All these steps have to be completed to render the meat edible for Muslims' consumption.

The long list of problems discovered led the Halal Food Dept. of the Canadian Council of Muslim Theologins to create HMA.  In turn, HMA's methods have been examined and endorsed by 41 different Imams and Islamic Scholars from across Canada.

So far, HMA has certified 4 poultry abattoirs, and 3 further processors for chicken (eg. chicken nuggets).

Halal has similar standards and requirements to kosher.  Kosher specifies how the animal must be slaughtered, but Halal adds spiritual requirements as well.  Inspection and certification of kosher is a more mature system than the newer Halal certification system.

Trademarks that may be displayed on kosher products sold
in Canada, showing the food producer has passed the
necessary auditing and certification for designation as kosher.

Late last year, the owners of a halal beef supplier in Iowa were charged with selling $4.9 million in beef that prosecutors said did not follow the halal practices it promised.

Some other fraudulent Halal cases have occurred: 

• In November 2011, a supermarket chain in Anaheim, California, paid fines of $527,000 after it sold regular meat as halal.
• A wholesaler in England was fined nearly $100,000 last year after investigators caught the company putting the halal label on chicken that was traced to a supplier that did not sell halal meat.
•  A manager pleaded guilty to directing workers at the Midamar Corp. to repackage beef products from a slaughterhouse that wasn’t approved for export to Malaysia and Indonesia.  The company has denied wrongdoing and moved to dismiss the case, arguing the charges violate the US First Amendment for "free speech".  Islamic Services of America, which certified halal beef for Midamar, said the U.S. government can’t enforce religious slaughter protocols.

Organic Chicken Fraud

CFIA is investigating allegations that lower quality chicken was being fraudulently packaged and labeled as antibiotic free, animal by-products free ("AABF"), organic chicken by Cericola Farms Inc.

The story details can be read here and here.

While Vashti Dalipsingh was the Director of Operations at Cericola Farms Inc., during more than five month period she alleges that she was repeatedly ordered to package normal broiler chickens as the premium grade antibiotic free, animal by-products free ("AABF") organic chicken; usually when they ran out of organic chicken.  Dalipsingh says she dug into Cericola's records and realized the fraudulent practice had been going on for eight months before she was fired in April (placing the start date at Sept 2014).  She claims that up to 10,000 kg./wk. of conventional meat was intentionally labelled organic to keep up with demand by Cericola's customers.

Running out of organic chicken prior to filling the entire quantity ordered by national chain customers (eg. Loblaws, Sobeys, Costco, etc.) is a dangerous occurrence that is not tolerated by these huge customers.

Cericola claims to be the 2nd largest supplier or organic chicken, and to have been supplying "organic" chicken for 56 years (ie. since 1959).  The world's first recorded use of "organic" in the sense of "free from pesticides and fertilizers" was attested in 1942; 17 years before Cericola's first use.

The products, which include Blue Goose Organic and Blue Goose AABF, ended up on shelves at Sobeys, Loblaws and Costco in Greater Toronto and in the Moncton, N.B. area, Dalipsingh’s legal team said.

Of course, Cericola Farms insists that all is well, their chicken is fantastic, and there is no basis for the allegations made against them.  Did you expect them to say anything different?  Cericola Farms said Dalipsingh's allegations "are frivolous and vexatious, and we intend to vigorously defend our company in court".

Blue Goose, one of the organic chicken brands wounded by these allegations against Cericola has said that they are standing by Cericola, as is Loblaws.  Loblaws was also reported to have said they would "act quickly" if the allegations are proven.  On Monday June 15th 2015 I spoke to the Store Manager of a Loblaws who told me that he had received a recall notice from his head office for a number of SKU's of Blue Goose, but he had none of the recalled SKU's on the store shelves.

If CFIA does their job, they can readily find other employees who witnessed or participated in the fraud, if it occurred.  Whether these other witnesses come forward will likely depend on how much fear Cericola is able to raise in the employee's minds.  If people think that whistleblowing will cost them their job, or perhaps everybody's job if the plant is caused to be shut down, they will likely keep quiet.

Forensic auditing can easily determine if more organic chicken was shipped out of Cericola's plant than what was grown.  Farms are required to keep records for at least 12 months to 7 years, depending on the type of record.  Inventory records are kept on the stock of organic chicken in the process and the storage coolers.  In a day to a week of detective work, the truth can be outed.  How hard will CFIA investigate?

CFIA may choose to telephone Cericola's President, where the following conversation might occur:

CFIA:   "Did you do that alleged organic chicken fraud?".

Cericola's President:   "NO!"

CFIA:    "That's good enough for me.  Sorry to bother you.  This case is closed."

CFIA wraps up another investigation in record time.  While CFIA may not be effective, they certainly are quick to start, and quick to finish.

In time, we will see what CFIA actually decides to do.

The other possibility is the unjust dismissal lawsuit.  While civil suits require full disclosure of info by each party, I'm not so naive to think this always happens as it should.

If it's like the Egg Mafia who were caught shipping known defective eggs by CFIA, there will be a giant purge of computer records, and mountains of shredded papers.  Of course, that wasn't criminal conspiracy to hamper a police investigation, it was just Spring Cleaning.

Canada's Supply Management System for chicken ensures that these multi-millionaire chicken farmers are the highest paid farmers in Canada, according to Stats Canada.

Importers of chicken are forced to pay tariffs as high as 285% so as to protect chicken farmers and producers.  Consumers pay 50% to 300% more for chicken than the rest of the world.  In spite of this, there are ongoing allegations, time and again, of fraud, corruption, abuse, and cheating within the system (eg. spent hens, fraudulent FCR's, contaminated chicken, chicken exports, IREP chicken, animal cruelty, and many more.)

Just how much further along this terrible path will we be forced to march?

Spent Chicken = Cheating Chicken

Discussions about "spent chicken" or "spent fowl" have always been a hot topic in the chicken coops of Canada.  Now however, it's also a hot topic to the "Johnny Come Lately" Chicken Farmers of Canada ("CFC"), and Chicken Farmers of Ontario ("CFO").

For wannabe farmers, "spent chicken" includes old egg laying chickens who are past their prime, or old hens and roosters from egg hatcheries.  Due to the limited alternatives, they are often sold for close to nothing, so the cost is just the trucking expenses to the slaughter plant.  The alternative to to kill them on-site and landfill them.

I did an advanced Google search of CFC's website.  It is first mentioned in the CFC's 2010 Annual Report about "spent fowl" imports, declaring  it as a critical priority for 2011.

For CFO, a similar Google advanced search turned up the following in their April 10, 2013 News Insight

"However, we are now faced with an unexpected, unprecedented, and potentially catastrophic level of spent fowl imports which undermines the principles of the alignment initiative."

Sounds pretty serious.

But unexpected?  If CFC had it as critical priority in their 2010 Annual Report released on Mar. 18, 2011 why is it such a shock and surprise to CFO 2 years later?  Do these guys at CFC and CFO talk to each other?

When did this really become an issue?

Let's look at the data from Statistics Canada.

The graph above shows data from StatsCan CANSIM Table 002-0010 (Add/Remove data to suit).  There appears to be "business as usual" for 1999 to 2002, but a statistically significant dip, with a correlation coefficient of 74.7% is plainly visible as of 2003 (see yellow line in graph above).  That should have been their first clue.  Rarely is there a statistically significant change without a reason.  After 2003, the spent chicken imports start to rise, and rise rapidly at an exponential rate of increase.

The leaders of this "spent chicken solution" become more emboldened.  The leaders gain followers.  Soon, the majority of the players in the SM system are doing it.  Once it starts to rise, it goes up exponentially, at a rate of 10.79% per year increase.

That means the imports of spent chicken are doubling every 6.5 years (70/10.79%/yr= 6.5 years).

It is obvious that the change started in 2003, and could have been noticed then.  CFC, CFO, the government, and all others in the SM system should have been aware as of 2003.  However, CFC goes on the public record about this issue in 2010, and CFO officially noticed it in April 2013.

CFC and CFO, the Rip Van Winkles of the chicken industry, asleep at the switch for 7 and 10 years respectfully, finally comes out of their comas.  Some of you may have thought that CFC's and CFO's catatonic comas made them permanent vegetables, but you were wrong.  They came back to life, and finally noticed the world around them.

Of course, they would jump right to it, and get this spent chicken problem resolved, right?  Not so fast.  We're not talking about Flash, the Superhero, we're talking about CFC and CFO.

For CFC, its been 3 years since they noticed the trend, and they are still wringing their hands in worry and desperation.

CFC says there is no way to tell at the border if it's an old layer or a young broiler.   I beg to differ.  Check out the Canadian Border Services Agency document which defines a "spent fowl":

MEMORANDUM D10-18-4 August 14, 2009

IMPORTATION OF CERTAIN AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS AND THE IMPORT CONTROL LIST (ICL)

25.(e) “spent fowl” means a mature bird of the species Gallus Domesticus that does not have a flexible cartilage at the posterior end of the sternum and does not have tender meat or soft skin of smooth texture. Only the older birds develop a bony sternum, also referred to as a breast or keel bone, as opposed to the young birds that have a youthful cartilaginous sternum. The primary purpose of these fowls is not for meat production but for other purposes, for example, hens for laying. Once these fowls are no longer productive, they are considered “spent” and, at that point, are destined for slaughter. “Spent fowl” are also referred to as stewing hens, boiling fowls, pot roasting hens, mature chickens, or old roosters (see tariff items 0105.92.10, 0105.93.10, 0207.11.10, 0207.12.10, 0207.13.10, 0207.14.10, 1601.00.23, 1602.32.11, and 1602.32.92).

Whole chicken can be inspected for the skin and breastbone condition.  I can tell the difference between an old layer and a young broiler, so I think a CBSA officer can too.  For non-breast and skinless products, it's a little more difficult, and this may require a certificate from a USDA inspector who witnessed the processing of the birds.

Why are we still waiting 3 years since coma time, or the 10 years elapsed from when it was first discoverable?

These are the same guys who love crushing Small Flockers like a bug, but they can't take action about processors and others who have invented a method to get around the Supply Management ("SM") rules that everybody loves to hate.

I happen to disagree, but CFC and CFO are supposed to love SM, and think its the greatest system and solution.  Why don't they defend their false god with their lives when it is threatened like this?

Why are CFC and CFO standing in the middle of the road, frozen with fear in the headlights of the approaching car?  If they think that SM is the savior of Canada, and SM is under attack, why won't they act?  Does CFC and CFO have friends in high places with the importers?

Have they been bought off?  Is this willful blindness by CFC, CFO, and others?

Assuming that the 1999-2006 baseline of 47.29 Million kg per year is legitimate spent fowl, then the current level of imports of 107.2 Million kg contains 59.91 Million Kg of Cheating Chicken, contrary to SM's rules.  CFC tells us that about 49% of that spent chicken is arriving as Boneless breast meat, a Canadian favorite.

If this 59.91 Million kg of Cheating Chicken wasn't imported, somebody in Canada would be growing it.  Notice that quota in Canada has been close to flat during this period.  CFC reports in 2012 that per capita chicken consumption is flat.  They also report a total production of 1091 Million kg. eviscerated for Quota Periods A-108 to A-114, or an average of 155.86 Million kg. eviscerated per quota period.  Therefore this Cheating Chicken is 5.49% of 2012's production.  If you are reading this, please be sure not tell tell any of the quota-holding mega farmers, as they may get upset with CFC and CFO as to why they are cut back while the Cheating Chicken continues for more than 10 years at the farmer's expense.

At a doubling every 6.5 years for Cheating Chicken, we only have to wait another 37.5 years for Cheating Chicken to become the entire chicken supply for all of Canada.  Supply Management for chicken will finally be a dead dinosaur in just another 37.5 years at current rates.  Mark your calendars for Year 2050, the Wicked Witch of Chicken Supply Management will finally be dead.

The 2013 Canadian average retail price of whole chicken is $5.51 per kg., and the boneless, skinless breast is $11.27 per kg., so we have a weighted average price of $8.39 per kg.  At 59.91 Million kg per year of Cheating Chicken, that's a total $502.65 Million per year in Cheating Chicken.  Not a bad source of extra cash for the importers.

As bad as it is for quota-holding producers, it's worse for the Canadian consumer.  Remember, it's the Canadian consumers who pay the high price of these windfall profits gained by the importers.

Will the gouging, disrespect, and persecution of the Canadian consumer never end at the hands of the SM Mafia?

If the importers of this chicken had to pay the proper import tariff, it would have been 238% or at least $1.67/kg under Tariff Code 0207.11, 0207.12, 0207.13, or 0207.14 (see CBSA's Tariffs current version as of July 1, 2015).  This is lost revenue to the Canadian government, money that will now have to be taken out of the wallets of Canadians.

When will the suffering and abuse be stopped?

Magical Trucks of Chicken

Since starting this Blog 18 days ago, I've been receiving a number of interesting phone calls and emails.  Most of the people who called wanted to remain anonymous, and once they explained the purpose of contacting me, I understood the reason for the secrecy.

They were intrigued with all that I wrote so far on the Blog, but wondered when I was going to get down to the real juicy stuff.

"What might that be", I asked.

"The magical chicken trucks", they said.

I was confused, so I asked them to explain.

They said that they used to work in one of the slaughter plants.  Every once and a while, they would load a truck with eviscerated chickens that was supposed to be exported from Canada, but it never crossed the US-Canadian border.  It went somewhere else.  Nobody on the plant floor knew where it went, except that it didn't go export like it was supposed to.

"It was a magical chicken truck", they repeated.

After asking some more questions, my light bulb finally went on.  You see, eviscerated chicken all looks the same, it's not traceable except by the paper that accompanies the chicken.  One truckload of chicken looks the same as the next; they're indistinguishable.

It appears that live chicken had been imported from the US for Canadian processing, and they were supposed to be re-exported as eviscerated chicken meat to some foreign country.  However, those chickens never left Canada.  By claiming to import for subsequent re-exporting, the processor escapes paying the 300% import tariff.  When the magical chicken truck is used, the chicken appears to leave Canada (but don't), and then the processor was free to sell the resulting meat in Canada at 3 times the selling price available in export markets.  Not a bad profit margin, if you can get away with it.

After all, it's easy for a magician to make a magical chicken truck disappear here and re-appear over there.   

Another person contacted me to say that they drove long haul reefer truck, often for chicken slaughter plants exporting to the States.  Sometimes they would have a load that they took to the States that would have some paper problems.  It appears that 2 or more slaughter plants were claiming the same truck as their own shipment, so that it would go towards their export quota license.

You get awarded quota for export, then claim that you exported as you were supposed to do (but never really export those chickens).  You then have an extra truckload of chicken in Canada that you can sell in the high priced Canadian chicken market.  That sounds like a nice way to make some quick cash, provided you can get away with it.

I understand that both Chicken Farmers of Ontario (CFO) and Chicken Farmers of Canada (CFC) are supposed to be monitoring the chicken supply management system, and ensuring that the rules are followed by everybody.

Whatever you do, make sure you don't wake up CFO or CFC to tell them about the magical chicken trucks.  They're trying to sleep.