CFIA Food Regulatory Modernization
Saskatchewan Green Trades Conference
November 7, 2014
© 2011 Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada
(Canadian Food Inspection Agency), all rights reserved. Use without permission is prohibited.
CFIA Transformation
Why are we doing this?
o Globalization and industry consolidation
o Shifting consumer landscape – aging population and
increasing expectations
o Evolving production and processing technologies
o Emerging pathogens and diseases
o Increased knowledge of risk and systems-based
approaches
o Advances in science and technology
o Modernization initiatives of trading partners
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What is CFIA Transformation?
• A comprehensive agenda to strengthen our
legislative foundation, regulatory programs and
inspection delivery
• CFIA’s transformation agenda is focussed on the
four inter-connected pillars of the Safe Food for
Canadians Action Plan:
•
•
•
•
stronger safety rules;
more effective inspection;
commitment to service; and
more information for consumers.
• Transformation efforts started with food, with plant
and animal following
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Safe Food for Canadians Act (SFCA)
• The SFCA received Royal Assent in November 2012.
Meat Inspection Act (1)
Fish Inspection Act (1)
Consumer Packaging and Labelling Act
(1)
Canada Agricultural Products Act (10)
Applies to dairy, egg, fresh fruit and
vegetables, maple and honey products
marketed through import, export and
interprovincial trade
• It provides the legislative base to simplify and consolidate three CFIA
inspection statutes and 13 corresponding regulations with a single set of
food inspection regulations that apply to all food imported, exported and
prepared for inter-provincial trade.
Meat Inspection Act (1)
Fish Inspection Act (1)
Consumer Packaging and Labelling Act
(1)
Canadian Agricultural Products Act (10)
Applies to dairy, egg, fruit, vegetable, maple
and honey products marketed through import,
export and interprovincial trade
• The Food and Drugs Act (FDA) continues to apply to all food sold in
Canada, as do other CFIA statutes related to plant and animal health.
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Proposed Safe Food for Canadians Regulations
The proposed regulations would apply to all food imported, exported
and prepared for inter-provincial trade. The key elements are:
Safe Food for Canadians Regulations
Licensing and Licensing Elements
Food Safety Requirements and Elements
Preventive Control Plan (PCP)
Commodity Specific
Requirements
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Regulated Parties would be required to…
Proposed Safe Food for Canadians Regulations
Hold a License
Licensing allows CFIA
to:
- identify who is
preparing or importing
food in Canada and
establish relationships
-authorize an activity
and attach specific
conditions
- determine where
food businesses are
located and what
activities they are
conducting
Meet Common
Food Safety
Requirements
Apply to all license
holders whether a
meat plant or a
small bakery
Reflect CODEX
standards (e.g.,
hygiene, sanitation,
pest control)
Contain provisions
for Traceability (one
step forward one
step backward)
Develop/Maintain
PCP
Document potential risks
and hazards associated
with a specific food
commodity or process
Demonstrate how risks
and hazards will be
controlled, monitored
and deviations corrected
(consistent with
HACCP)
Commodity
Specific
Requirements
Commodity-specific
requirements would
be maintained for
certain safety
provisions, grades,
standards of identity,
container sizes,
country of origin and
labelling
Small-businesses less
thank $30k: would
require a licence, meet
regulatory requirements
for PCP, but be exempt
from having a written
PCP
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Commodity Specific Provisions - Horticulture
Licensing
•
The new regulations will require licensing for those who import and those
who manufacture, prepare, and package food (e.g., field pack) for interprovincial trade or export, however, distributors and FFV producers will not
require a licence.
Preventive Control Plans (PCPs)
• Would be required for those who grow and harvest FFVs, including those
who field-pack and for indoor production, for trade inter-provincially or
export.
•
Importers will need to ensure produce was grown and harvested in
accordance with Canadian requirements.
•
New PCP requirement would be consistent with Codex and CanadaGAP.
Dispute Resolution Mechanism
•
Licensing and Arbitration Regulations and “dual licensing” will be replaced
with a requirement for fruit and vegetable dealers to be members of a nongovernment entity (DRC) to facilitate orderly trade and better align with
system in the United States.
Licensing, food safety requirements, and preventive control plans would apply to
food exported , imported, or traded across provincial borders
No licence or PCP requirement if product remains in province
Licence and PCP required if product crosses borders
It is currently proposed that micro-businesses less than $30k would:
• require a licence and must meet food safety requirements for preventive controls, but be
exempt from requirement for a written PCP.
Grades
• The proposed regulations would outline the conditions for grading
and grade labelling, and could incorporate by reference the
Canadian Grade Compendium that would consolidate existing
grade standards in a single document, organized by commodity for
ease of reference.
• The proposed regulations would state that a food may only be
graded with a Canadian grade if it:
•
meets the requirements of the SFCA and Regulations, including any
standards of identity, colour, classification, packaging and labelling
requirements;
• meets the requirements for a grade set out in the Compendium;
• was prepared by a licence holder; and
• is graded by the licence holder, a grader or an inspector.
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Three Years of Analysis and Consultation
• Unprecedented engagement with stakeholders – support
continues and interest remains high
• Work began with stakeholders prior to 2012 in developing a
legislative proposal
2012
June 2012: SFCA
tabled in Parliament
2013
Sping 2013: New
Regulatory
Framework for Food
Nov. 2012: SFCA
receives Royal Assent Inspection released
June 2013: 1st Food
Forum held
2014
June 2014:
Healthy and Safe
Food Forum
May to Aug. 2014
June to Nov. 2013
2nd round of
st
1 Round of
consultations on
engagement launched SFCR
•
Combined, more than 15,500 stakeholders have been engaged
and have responded enthusiastically by sending in over 300
submissions on the regulations.
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Overview of Second Round of Consultations
•
In June, 2014, the two day Healthy and Safe Food Regulatory Forum (the
Forum), served as the launch for a second round of consultations on the
proposed regulations.
•
Participants included at the forum included representatives from industry, academia, federal
partner departments, consumer groups and other stakeholder groups.
•
Leading up to the Forum a number of food safety modernization
documents were released for consultation:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
A New Regulatory Framework for Federal Food Inspection: Overview of Proposed Regulations
Use of Private Certification to Inform Regulatory Risk-Based Oversight
Incorporation by Reference
Foreign Food Safety Systems Recognition: Proposed Framework
The Draft Integrated Agency Inspection Model
CFIA Guidance Documents: Supporting Compliance with the Proposed Safe Food for Canadians
Regulations
Food Program Framework
Draft Compliance Promotion Strategy
Draft Compliance, Control and Enforcement Framework
Enhancing Risk Analysis: A more systematic and consistent approach
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Consultations Feedback
Opportunity to level
the playing field for
all food made in
Canada – whether
domestic or imported
Support for the food
regulatory
modernization
agenda continues
Viewed as
consistent with
global food safety
approaches
Better understanding
of proposed
horizontal
requirements
Concerns around
the capacity of small
businesses to
comply
Want to see
commodity
specific
requirements
Difference between
registered and nonregistered sectors on
$30k preventive control
plans exemption
Foreign
government (U.S.,
EU, China)
feedback is
supportive
Anxious to see
appeal process
and related
regulations
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Coming into Force Plan
The coming into force proposal reflects the different levels of readiness between
industry that is:
• “Registered” – already largely meet and are under active CFIA oversight
• Fresh Fruit and Vegetable – many existing requirements, but few preventive controls
• “non-registered” – smaller companies may be unaware of CFIA requirements
Registered**
Fresh Fruit and
Vegetables
Non-Registered**
License
2015 (June)
2015 (June)
2016 (June)
PCP
2015 (June)
2016 (June)
2017 (June)
• Modest changes for
industry
• Do not have
substantive food
safety provisions
• FDA applies
• FDA still applies
• Licensing first enables
compliance promotion
**Includes new export requirements for these products
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Guidance Documents
• The CFIA currently has over 250 food
manuals (over 44,000 pages).
• These would be replaced to align with
new legislative authorities to:
o Clearly link to regulatory provisions
o Provide sufficient information for industry to
understand their obligations
o Include models systems (non-binding guidance) to assist industry to
comply
o Develop verification procedures/tasks that form an integral part of the
new CFIA Compliance Enforcement Strategy
o Use a standardized format and “plain language”
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Future Issues
•
Once complete, the CFIA would turn to developing:
• Regulations under SFCA: Disclosure of Information
• Regulations under Canadian Food Inspection Agency Act: Recall
Regulations and Review Mechanism
• Regulations under Agriculture and Agri-Food Administrative Monetary
Penalties Act: Amendments to the AMP Regulations to designate
violations under the SFCA/SFCR
•
Phase II – Areas being considered for future inclusions in the
regulations following policy development and appropriate
consultation include:
• Distribution centres, warehouses and transporters
• Managing unforeseen circumstances (e.g. food defence)
• Others as identified
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Next Steps
•
All consultation feedback is being triaged and analysed. Where
appropriate, feedback will be reflected in Canada Gazette I.
•
Industry specific technical briefings are being scheduled.
•
A series of targeted discussion sessions with SMEs (owners
and/or representatives) will take place in order to better
understand their perspectives on the design of guidance
materials (e.g., format, language style, level of detail, method of
communicating materials etc.).
•
January 2015 – Target for publication of proposed regulations
in Canada Gazette Part I with a Comment period open for 75
days.
•
June 2015 – Target for publication of final regulations in Canada
Gazette Part II.
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Feedback
By email: CFIA-Modernisation-ACIA@inspection.gc.ca
By mail:
Strategic Partnerships Division
1400 Merivale Road, Tower 1
Floor 5, Suite 216
Ottawa, ON K1A 0Y9
Canada
Attn: Linda Webster
By fax: 613-773-5695
To stay connected with the CFIA, sign up to our
Listserv (www.inspection.gc.ca/english/util/listserv/listserve.shtml)
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