LCBO has asked vendors to stop selling and importing certain wines labelled “Product of Israel” after Canadian food authorities took issue with their country-of-origin declaration.
LCBO has asked vendors to stop selling and importing certain wines labelled “Product of Israel” after Canadian food authorities took issue with their country-of-origin declaration.
Two Israeli-owned wineries located in the West Bank are expressing outrage after Canadian food authorities took issue with the country-of-origin declaration on their products.
The matter was highlighted in a letter sent this week from the Liquor Control Board of Ontario to vendors, asking them to stop selling and importing wines from the Psagot Winery and Shiloh Winery that were labelled “Product of Israel.”
The LCBO letter said the Canadian Food Inspection Agency determined calling the wines a “Product of Israel” would not be acceptable because they were made from grapes in the West Bank occupied territory.
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The letter said the CFIA advised the LCBO that the federal government doesn’t recognize Israel’s control over several territories it occupied in 1967, including the West Bank.
“As such, wine products from these regions that are labelled as ‘Product of Israel’ would not be acceptable and would be considered misleading as per subsection 5 (1) of the Food and Drugs Act,” the letter said.
The CFIA did not respond to requests for comment.
The two wineries issued separate statements on Thursday criticizing the CFIA’s stance.
Psagot Winery said it was shocked at the agency’s decision and called it an effort to deny Jewish heritage in the region.
“We are shocked at the blatant distortion of history on behalf of the Canadian government,” said winery owner Yaakov Berg. “We call on all friends of Israel to stand with us and reject this further attempt to deny our heritage.”
Shiloh Winery called the decision “absurd” in a post on their Facebook page, adding that the LCBO’s business unit promoted one of their wines in its catalogue last May.
The Israeli Embassy in Ottawa said it’s currently in touch with Canadian authorities on the matter.
The issue has also drawn criticism from at least one Jewish group.
B’nai Brith Canada condemned the CFIA’s decision to declare the wine as misleadingly labelled.
The LCBO’s letter said it was seeking clarification from the CFIA on how wines from regions like the West Bank should be labelled to comply with the Food and Drugs Act.
“This is not an LCBO decision,” said LCBO spokeswoman Christine Bujold, adding that the LCBO nonetheless must follow the law while it awaits clarification.
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