Canadian Government Amends Regulations and Standards on Maple Products

FAIRFIELD, N.J. - Feb. 4, 2015 - PRLog -- This was done because the color and grading standards of the maple product regulation did not align with the standards/regulations from Ontario, Quebec and the United States (US). Additionally, there has been some consumer confusion over the naming of some the maple products, such as “light maple syrup” which some consumers took as meaning lower in calories, as opposed to light in color.

Harmonization of Canada Maple Syrup Standards with the US Regulations

Canada and US producers are the world suppliers of maple syrup. Canada exports 59% of its maple syrup production to the US. Harmonization of the standards, while protecting the integrity of maple products, should also result in a positive impact on trade.

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has three grade names (US Grade A, US Grade B for Reprocessing, Substandard) for maple products. In addition, it has three color standards for US Grade A products, Light Amber, Medium Amber and Dark Amber. There are no color standards for the other grades.

Maple Syrup Grading

Prior to this update, Canada had three grade names (Canada No. 1, Canada No. 2, Canada No. 3), as well as color standards of Extra Light, Light and Medium for Canada No.1, Amber for Canada No. 2 and Dark for Canada No. 3. The new regulation will have Canada Grade A and Canada Processing Grade, plus four color standards under Canada Grade A: Golden (Delicate Taste), Amber (Rich Taste), Dark (Robust Taste) and Very Dark (Strong Taste).

Maple Syrup Color

Determination of the color is based on light transmission utilizing a spectrophotometer with matched square optical cells having a 10 mm light path at a wavelength of 560 nm. The color values are expressed in the percentage of light transmission as compared to AR (Guaranteed Analytical Grade Reagent) glycerol which is fixed at 100 per cent transmission. Comparable methods are also allowed.

“Canada Grade A” maple syrup shall be regarded as in a color class set out in Column I, if its percentage of light transmission is that set out in Column II in a table within the latest Safeguards bulletin (http://newsletter.sgs.com/eNewsletterPro/uploadedimages/0...).

Reference:

Regulations Amending the Maple Products Regulations, Canada Agricultural Products Act (http://canadagazette.gc.ca/rp-pr/p2/2014/2014-12-31/html/...), Canada Gazette

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