Quality Assurance

In April 1998 CPC launched the Canadian Quality Assurance™ Program, a HACCP-based program providing for food safety, product quality and production integrity. Sask Pork developed the program for Saskatchewan producers in conjunction with the Canadian Pork Council and Saskatchewan Agriculture and Food, Pork Central. That same year, the provincial government passed legislation that governs quality assurance programs for all sectors in Saskatchewan.

Sask Pork is the only licensed delivery agent for the program in the province. The first Saskatchewan producer was validated in June 1999. The program is ongoing with producers becoming validated and will likely be expanded to include national services coordination.

Research

In January 2000, the Sask Pork Research Chair in Environmental Engineering was established in partnership with the University of Saskatchewan and the Prairie Swine Centre. The Chair, Dr. Claude Laguë, P.Eng., coordinates research in the areas of manure management and environmental sustainability of the livestock industry. As well, Dr Laguë will also serve on a number of national research and technical committees acting on behalf of the Saskatchewan pork industry to address environmental issues and proposed national regulations relative to the livestock industry. The four-year position is funded through the Industry Sustainability Fund.

Funding from the check-off is provided to research organizations including the Prairie Swine Centre, the Veterinary Infectious Disease Organization (VIDO), the Centre for Ag Medicine (U of S), College of Engineering (U of S) and Prairie Agriculture Machinery Institute (PAMI) in Humboldt, Saskatchewan. Funding is provided annually to the Farm Animal Council of Saskatchewan (FACS) to assist in continuing their work in developing up-to-date practices for the care and handling of farm animals and to address provincial and national animal welfare issues.

Sask Pork also supports and participates in providing ongoing input into national initiatives such as the Canadian Climate Change Funding Initiative; the National Standardized Environmental Management Systems (NSEMS) and a national Research Technology Transfer program.

Research is also being undertaken in the areas of occupational health and safety of barn workers and the economic viability of hog operations in Saskatchewan.

Industry Communications and Product Promotions

Communications

Communications is responsible for building and promoting awareness of the Saskatchewan pork industry to the public and other industry stakeholders. As well, it manages government, public and media relations and issues management and is key in facilitating communications services and support for provincial and national industry programs and for Sask Pork operations.

In 2000, an industry communications strategy was developed to begin the process of raising public awareness of the industry and address issues facing it.

Communications is also an active member of a communications working group that includes, Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario the Maritime Provinces and CPC. The working group meets annually to review and coordinate national and provincial communications strategies, facilitate the exchange of industry communications initiatives and support the development of collaborative communications materials that will benefit all provinces.

"Quality Producers…Quality Pork" is the overall theme for the industry campaign. Three print ads have been produced dealing with, the Environment, Quality and Food Safety and Industry Growth and Opportunity. A TV ad, produced in partnership with FACS, and aired provincially has also been developed to compliment the print campaign.
An industry information brochure has also been developed through a partnership with the Agrivision Corporation.

Promotions

Product promotion includes:

Sponsorship and participation in Western Canadian trade shows and provincial annual conferences including: Premiere Specialty Food & Wine Shows, Saskatchewan Food Processors Association, the Saskatchewan Meat Processors Association and the Canadian Western Agribition Agri-Ed Showcase.

As a member of the Retail Meat Cutting Advisory Committee, Sask Pork provides input on program development and awards bursaries to the top students graduating from the SIAST Kelsey Institute Retail Meat Cutting Program. Sask Pork is also a member of the Ag in the Classroom program and provides current resources materials on the pork industry to teachers in both urban and rural schools.

Through the Canadian Pork Council, Sask Pork participates in the national Heart & Stroke Foundation Health Check? program to educate consumers on the healthy benefits of including pork in their diet.

In partnership with other Canadian provincial producer groups, Sask Pork is able to develop high quality resource materials for consumers, retailers and educators. A shared, toll-free consumer line (1-888-TRY PORK) available in Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Alberta provides consumers, retailers and teachers access to recipes, nutritional information, cooking/storage and safe food handling information and promotion items. Nutrition newsletters and updated dietary information are mailed quarterly to all nutritionists, dieticians and health professionals in Saskatchewan.

The retail promotion program includes distribution of seasonal recipe cards, cut charts and value added information for retailers approximately three times per year. These distributions coincide with fall and holiday entertaining, National Pork Month (February), National Nutrition Month (March) and spring/summer during barbecue season.
Sask Pork also sponsors activities that raise the awareness of pork products through the promotion of pork at provincial community events.

National Affiliations:

Sask Pork is a member of the Canadian Pork Council (CPC) and is represented on its Executive and Board. CPC key areas of support to Sask Pork include: maintaining export access and opening new markets for our pork, programming such as tech transfer initiatives, animal health, nutrition, environment, as well as affiliations with the Canadian Federation of Agriculture and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.

Sask Pork is also supported through its membership with Canada Pork International (CPI), the export promotion agency of the Canadian pork industry. CPI provides industry and market development for pork products.