OFA attends announcement for new biosecurity initiative

Aug 08, 2023

OFA was in attendance at Walker Farms in Aylmer earlier this week for the announcement of a new support program aimed at enhancing biosecurity and risk preparedness in the agri-food sector.

The governments of Canada and Ontario are investing up to $7.5 million through the Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership to help eligible agri-food businesses improve animal health and welfare, plant health, and food safety in their sector.

The Biosecurity Enhancement Initiative is a new, cost-share offering that is designed to help farmers, processors, and other farm-supporting agri-food businesses enhance operational resilience and improve public trust in the food supply system.

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Video: Finding a Balance of Innovation and Regulation - Dr. Peter Facchini

Regulations help markets and industry exist on level playing fields, keeping consumers safe and innovation from going too far. However, incredibly strict regulations can stunt innovation and cause entire industries to wither away. Dr. Peter James Facchini brings his perspective on how existing regulations have slowed the advancement of medical developments within Canada. Given the international concern of opium poppy’s illicit potential, Health Canada must abide by this global policy. But with modern technology pushing the development of many pharmaceuticals to being grown via fermentation, is it time to reconsider the rules?

Dr. Peter James Facchini leads research into the metabolic biochemistry in opium poppy at the University of Calgary. For more than 30 years, his work has contributed to the increased availability of benzylisoquinoline alkaloid biosynthetic genes to assist in the creation of morphine for pharmaceutical use. Dr. Facchini completed his B.Sc. and Ph.D. in Biological Sciences at the University of Toronto before completing Postdoctoral Fellowships in Biochemistry at the University of Kentucky in 1992 & Université de Montréal in 1995.