The Law of Donair

Do we have a silly season here at Slaw? Earlier this week, when I saw that our intricate system of laws, rules and regulations had entered into hallowed territory, I knew I could finally, legitimately make a post about the Halifax Donair on a legal blog!

It seems that we in Canada have something entitled the: Federal/Provincial/Territorial Donair Working Group. Which came together to effect “A Consultation with Stakeholders on the Recommended Guidelines for Management of the Risks Related to the Consumption of Donairs and Similar Products.” You laugh, but Donairs are no small matter in Halifax. The Halifax Donair is nothing short of an institution and so when someone goes messing with the recipe it is no small matter in these parts.

Health Canada has determined that there are some health issues associated with Donair intake (and here for all the technicalities). As a result recommendations have been made regarding the rules and regulations for the preparation and storage of donair meat; summed up quite nicely by the local paper as, once in the freezer, twice in the fire. This week it was announced that Nova Scotia will adopt these regulations and caused a bit of stir, look at the comments that go along with some of the news stories.

As a sidebar, the CALL/ACBD conference is in Halifax next spring, and if you plan on attending plan on having a donair… preferably after an evening of taking advantage of Halifax’s numerous licensed establishments, the donair is yummy to begin with, but the taste seems to improve the late at night and very early in the morning.