TORONTO -- A dropped word forced Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne to hold a second, secret swearing-in ceremony as the new minister of agriculture and food.

Wynne had promised to appoint herself as minister of agriculture when she and her new cabinet were sworn in on Feb. 11, but she apparently forgot part of the ministry name at the ceremony.

It used to be Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, but Wynne split rural affairs into its own ministry while she took an oath to be minister of agriculture, leaving out the word "food."

So officials held a second swearing-in ceremony Feb. 14 to officially make Wynne the minister of agriculture and food.

The Progressive Conservatives accused the Liberal government of trying to hide the truth instead of admitting that Wynne had made a mistake.

Conservative Ernie Hardeman, a former agriculture minister, says it was only after he raised concerns that there was no minister responsible for food that "Wynne's secret swearing-in ceremony" was discovered.

"Perhaps more troubling than forgetting 'food' was the fact that when a mistake occurred her first instinct was to cover it up and keep it a secret," said Hardeman.