Keep It Clean is a Joint Effort

Keep It Clean shares five simple tips to protect Canadian market access.

Around the world, Canada is recognized as a trusted supplier of high-quality canola, cereals and pulses. Maintaining this reputation and protecting market access is vital to the success of our agriculture sector.

Jake Leguee, who grows canola, durum, lentils, peas and wheat near Fillmore, Sask. says market access is something he takes seriously on his farm.

“What you do on your farm matters. That’s what I try to tell neighbours and friends. You might think your individual fields are no big deal, but if your crop happens to be one of the samples taken at the export destination, and they detect residues greater than the maximum residue limit, now we all have a problem,” he says.

The maximum residue limit (MRL) is the maximum amount of pesticide residue that’s allowed to remain on harvested grain and are primarily used for trade purposes — not to measure food safety. Since countries can set their own MRLs, Canadian crops must meet the MRLs set by the destination country to avoid trade disruptions. If no MRLs are listed for a product, the assumed limit is zero.