REGINA — To help small agricultural businesses further expand into grocery and food services, the Government of Canada is supporting the creation of a certification program that will allow businesses to meet specific trade requirements.
The $336,858 investment, announced by the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, Marie-Claude Bibeau, will support GS1 Canada, a not-for-profit association, to develop training tailored to small and micro food enterprises. The project includes learning modules and a virtual portal of resources specifically for them.
GS1 Canada plans to equip at least 200 businesses across Canada with the knowledge, tools and experience they need to prepare for trade with different sectors, including the grocery sector, distribution and food services, according to a press release.
Completion of the certification program will provide micro and small enterprises (MSE) with access to other services provided by GS1 Canada for one year. A key component of this subscription for MSEs is ensuring their products have licensed GS1 barcodes, which are required by many Canadian retailers and distributors, as well as access to online tools to share quality, bilingual product data with trading partners.
GS1 Canada is a neutral, not-for-profit association that collaborates with industry to develop standards, education and non-proprietary, industry-directed solutions to benefit businesses of all size. GS1 has local member organizations in 116 countries, over two million user companies and six billion transactions every day.
The funding announced is provided through the AgriAssurance Program: National Industry Association (NIA) Component, which funds projects at the national level to help industry develop and adopt systems, standards and tools to support health and safety claims about Canadian agricultural and agri-food products.
