Canadian watchdog busts 45 stores for 'maple washing' in US trade war but imposes no penalties

Dozens of Canadian supermarkets have been “maple washing” their produce — disguising American fruits and veggies, which have suddenly become toxic in the trade war , as homegrown.

But despite the alleged bid to dupe shoppers, Canada’s food watchdog imposed no fines or penalties — infuriating many Canadians.

Canucks wanting to boycott American products have been outraged by retailers who tried to hide “Product of USA” labels on their products by slapping a red maple leaf or other Canadian branding. 3

In many stores north of the border, sold out shelves of Canadian produce sat next to fully stocked shelves of their US-grown counterparts, which routinely went on sale to liquidate inventory as Canucks went “elbows up.”

Despite trade tensions easing somewhat between the two natio