Hello again!
Well it seems not so easy to find information on Canadian and/ or American Food and Make-up Companies that produce products outside of the country. But do not fret will dedicate time to doing more research on this subject. What I was trying to find was a site that you could look up a company and see where they produce / manufacture their product. With the concern with laws in certain countries being very different from Canada and the United States, there is a lot of worry over what is exactly in the products, and conditions in which they are made. When I first saw the UPC post on Country codes I got curious and shared (Reading bar-codes, interesting!!!!) what I found. Than when I found the list that I posted on January 23, 2013: "Okay more on upc codes- country" I noticed the statement on almost every site I found:
The country of origin indicated in barcodes may not be the same country where a product was manufactured. It is the country where the company that produces the product is headquartered. A company located in Switzerland could have manufacturing sites in India, China or other country. A more reliable method for finding the country in which a product was manufactured is to look for a "made in" label on the product packaging.
Supposedly this is the best way to see where something is made. Wrong!!! Since I started my current job almost 5 years ago, I have learned one thing I didn't know. Almost every product has an expiry date. Not just food, deodorant, toothpaste, creams, soap, shampoo etc. It is not always easy to find the expire date but it is there. If is has a code not an expire date, I now find myself not buying the product. I do not know the laws in the USA but expire dates are now mandatory In many cases it is the packaging that expires (it starts to break down), but you have to remember there are some things, chemicals, that also break down, or lose effectiveness after expire date. Some things may still work but others, like test strips for Diabetes
have an exact date because they are no longer reliable after that date. Now the reason I mention this is that I do know that reading labels is not as easy as it sounds. The fact that the above statement refers to look for the "made in"on the label.
Maybe be I am missing something. I have grabbed 6 food products from my kitchen. Surprise to me I found only 1 that says "made in" and it was made in the United States of America", 2 says imported for, 1 says produced for and the other 2 said nothing except brand name. Am I missing something, what happened to saying where the product was made. I actually brought this point out to someone, and they said because they were made in Canada. If that was true would it not say Made in Canada??? If I owned the company I would be proud to put Made in Canada (okay I am Canadian) but I do know that logic says you can't put Made in Canada if it wasn't. So where I ask were these made??? I cannot believe this idea that if it has no "made in" on label that it is made here. That does not make sense!! What if it is sold in another country? Extra work to make separate labels, bad business sense.
So this is where you, the reader, can help! Check 1 or 2 things in you kitchen and tell if it has a "made in" on it, this includes everyone no matter where you live. I am curious to see if I am the only one having a problem with finding out where my food comes from. The one thing I am sure of is fresh fruit and vegetables because at the Grocery Store it says that on the label on the bin /shelf.
Now the other thing I was asked was about makeup. Well I don't use a lot of makeup but grabbed 6 things from my bathroom 2 makeup, 1 makeup remover, 1 toothpaste, 1 hand cream and 1 hair product (gel/ cream twist). In order (scary) China, China, USA, Imported, Canada with imported USA products, Imported. So not food but found 4 "made in" on label. Still would like to have known where toothpaste was made!!!!
Guess I will now be very careful on reading labels. Checking for the "made in" on each. Looks like makeup is now off my shopping list unless made here or the States. Something tells me that my grocery bill just went up! Like I needed that! So I guess the 2 main rules for shopping is "made in" and expiry date!
I did find some sites that where interesting, with some information on companies. Here are a few.
Manta.com: 12,099 Food Companies in Canada ,
Manta has 111,741 companies under Food Companies in United States
Food Processing
FCPC (Food & Consumer Products of Canada)
Ach Food Companies Inc (French's, Mazola, Karo, Fleischmann's etc) click brands at the bottom for Product Sites with recipes etc , had to share this one :)
Well I hope that was a little helpful!!
Please if you can let me know about the "made in" on 1 or 2 of your food products, Thank You!
Alice M
alicem@fortheloveofalicesfamily.com
