The Government of Canada has launched a public consultation on new rules to strengthen food safety. The proposed Safe Food for Canadians Regulations will better protect Canadian families by putting a greater emphasis on preventing food safety risks for all foods imported into Canada or sold across provinces. The regulations would also apply to foods prepared for export.
The 90-day consultation period is open to industry for comments and will close on April 21, 2017. Your comments and views are required on the proposed changes: key elements on licensing, preventative food safety controls, traceability, importing food and exporting food. To learn more on the CFIA Consultation, please visit CFIA website.
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) will host a series of webinars and information sessions across Canada. View the calendar, and register online here.
The proposed Safe Food for Canadians Regulations will strengthen Canada’s reputation as a leader in food safety by establishing consistent, prevention-focused requirements for food that is imported or prepared for export or intra-provincial trade, and would also include some requirements applicable to food that is traded inter-provincially.
The proposed Regulations will consolidate 13 food commodity-based regulations plus the food-related provisions of the Consumer Packaging and Labelling Regulations (CPLR) into a single and more outcome-based food regulation under the Safe Food for Canadians Act (SFCA). Some requirements for certain food sectors would be phased in to reflect business size and different levels of industry readiness. Plain-language tools and guidance would be provided to support small businesses that are involved in importing food, or preparing food for export for inter-provincial trade, in meeting the requirements.
Full details on the proposed changes under the Safe Food for Canadian Regulations are found in the Canada Gazette Vol.151, No.3.