The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) has ruled that “Product of Israel” labels affixed to wines produced in illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank violate Canadian consumer protection law.
The agency said in its ruling that the wines were not produced within the internationally-recognized borders of Israel and that their labels do not mention that they were made in an area of the occupied West Bank.
The CFIA decision came in the implementation of legal decisions made in favor of David Kattenburg’s five-year legal battle over the labeling of wines produced in illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories.
In 2017, David Kattenburg, then a resident of Winnipeg, filed a complaint with the agency about two wines made in the West Bank settlements of Psagot and Shiloh. He argued they should not be deemed products of Israel under Canadian law because they were from Israeli settlements in the occupied territories.
The agency initially sided with Kattenburg but reversed its decision after Global Affairs Canada noted the West Bank was included under the Canada-Israel free trade agreement.
The ruling is expected to include more products made in illegal settlements.
Source: Palestinian News & Info Agency (WAFA)