Packers’ group names Canadian spokesman

Robert de Valk, an Ottawa-based consultant on food regulatory issues, is the new Canadian government affairs director for the North American Meat Processors Association (NAMP).

The group, which represents North American meat processors and their associates from offices in Reston, Va. (near Washington, D.C.) and in Ottawa, said in a release that de Valk’s appointment is a major step in its “New Initiative on Advocacy,” to represent its Canadian members in Ottawa “with the same degree of professionalism” with which it represents U.S. packers in Washington.

de Valk has since 1981 operated de Valk Consulting, billed as a “food regulatory intelligence and consulting practice” focusing on the poultry sector. It publishes the industry newsletter Poultry Briefs and operates the Commodity Alert Program (CAP), which NAMP called a widely-subscribed intelligence service.

de Valk previously worked for the federal department of consumer and corporate affairs in Ottawa for 10 years, the latter half of which were spent in the food policy group advising the federal deputy agriculture minister, NAMP noted.

NAMP, founded in 1942, also publishes the Meat Buyer’s Guide, a reference guide on meat cuts used by the food service industry, culinary schools and the U.S. government. Its annual convention will be held in Tucson, Ariz., from October 11 to 14.