A weekly report prepared by the staff of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA). If you require further information, regarding this report, call the Elora Resource Centre at 519-846-0941. Office hours: 8:30am to 4:30pm. For technical information, call the Agricultural Information Contact Centre at 1-877-424-1300 or visit the OMAFRA website: www.ontario.ca/omafra.
NEW PROPOSED FOOD SAFETY REQUIREMENTS
New year. New start. New proposed food safety requirements.
Does your business import food into Canada, export food to another country, or sell food across provinces?
If you do, or may in the future, read on.
Strong, flexible regulations that focus on prevention will go a long way in helping businesses uphold their reputation, keep customers healthy and loyal, and avoid costly recalls.
The CFIA recently launched a 90-day consultation on the proposed Safe Food for Canadians Regulations to better protect the health of Canadians.
What would change?
If you import food or prepare food to be exported or sold across provinces, you would be required to have preventive controls in place and you may need to write them down in a plan. Preventive controls would allow you to identify and manage food safety risks before products are sold to consumers. Strong preventive systems, such as traceability and food safety controls, could boost your competitiveness here in Canada and abroad.
You may also need to obtain a licence and meet certain traceability requirements. Learn more about the key elements of the proposed Regulations in this video – http://bit.ly/2m8nDqD.
Learn
Regulations can sometimes be difficult to understand and apply. The CFIA website is home to resources to help you determine how the proposed requirements would apply to you.
Find out if you would need a licence, a written Preventive Control Plan or what your traceability requirements would be under the proposed new rules by answering a few questions using the interactive tools – http://bit.ly/2kV0I08.
Participate
Get involved and stay connected on this important initiative. Visit gc.ca/safefood to register for a webinar or in-person information session near you.
Join the food safety conversation online using #SafeFoodCan.
Have a question? Call 1-800-442-2342 or send it to gc.ca/contactus.
Have your say
Once you’ve learned about the proposed Regulations, let CFIA know what you think.
Go to inspection.gc.ca/safefood and submit your feedback before the consultation closes on April 21, 2017.
