“The journalists taped telephone conversations and later used a hidden camera to capture footage of Bourdeau. He told the reporters he knew it was illegal to cut maple syrup labelled as pure with other sugars – and said that he didn’t do that.”

“Bourdeau’s syrup is sold by major grocery chains, including IGA and Metro.”

“‘I’m the best when it comes to prices. The others can’t even come close,’ he said, adding his maple syrup cost less than C$5 a can. ‘There’s a lot of jealousy going on. Because I have the market. And it’s not entirely legal. And I got away with it anyway.’”

“When Bourdeau was confronted with the findings from the lab tests, he initially denied the allegations before suggesting a supplier from outside the province was to blame.”

“He told reporters he was launching his own investigation to try to determine how cane sugar had been mixed in with his product and would implement his own inspection system.”

“The head of Quebec’s sprawling stockpile of syrup told CBC that using suppliers from outside the province was not illegal – but falsely labelling such syrup as having Quebecois origins was.”

“Geneviève Clermont, head of ACER’s inspection division, said 90% of syrup from Quebec sold in bulk was tested, but she said that products canned and sold by producers themselves were not inspected regularly.”

“Many of the popular maple-flavoured syrups sold in the US are made of corn syrup (or high-fructose corn syrup) with added flavourings and caramel to give the amber-like appearance of genuine maple syrup.”

“Producing maple syrup, which can only occur during a narrow window of time in the spring, requires immense volumes of sap, which is then boiled down into the final product.”