Maple washing of products is making it harder for consumers to make informed choices

You might spot the maple leaf on many products across Canada, but that doesn’t always mean the item is Canadian.

Some companies are engaging in what experts call “maple washing”, a term used to describe the use of symbols or marketing to falsely claim products as Canadian made.

Consumers looking to support Canadian products rely on labels to make decisions on what to buy, but it’s not so simple.

“When you start peeling layers, you’re starting to notice that there are different levels of Canadiana out there,” said Dr. Sylvain Charlebois, a food distribution and policy professor at Dalhousie University.

One example is seen on a pouch of walnuts from Nutworks. The bag has a Canadian symbol, however, only the pouch is manufactured in Canada. The walnuts come from the U.S.A.

While the Cana