I was talking to a friend the other day about how more pork is being imported into Canada from other countries. She was surprised, adding she just assumed the pork she was buying at the grocery store was Canadian.

In fact, pork is sometimes imported from the U.S. and Chile despite the high-quality product grown right here in B.C. and Alberta.

That’s why the Canadian Pork label was launched a few years ago, so you can confirm that the meat was produced here rather than guessing. Some studies have shown that Canadian consumers prefer Canadian products over imports because of better production standards and regulations than other countries.

So that little sticker on packages of pork says a lot.

Other pork facts that may surprise you:

• According to B.C. Pork, 29 family farms produce 10% of the pork consumed in the province. Much of B.C.’s pork comes from neighbouring Alberta where there are 370 pig producers.
• Canada exported $3.2 billion of pork to more than 130 countries, third only to the European Union and the U.S.
• Japan is a major market for Canadian pork because consumers there value the high quality and superior taste.
• China produces and consumes more than 46% of the world’s pork.