CFIA Releases Safe Food for Canadians Regulations

CFIA released the regulations for the Safe Food for Canadians Act today. This has been an important advocacy piece for the Federation since the Act received Royal Assent in 2012.

Upon early review of the regulations, NSFA is pleased to read that many farms with a gross farm income under $100,000 will not be required to have a written preventive control plan (PCP). While the Federation does not dispute the need for traceability and assurance of safe food, the cost prohibitive written PCP would have potentially put farms, particularly those that sell direct to market across provincial boarders, out of business if required to comply. During the consultative process, NSFA lobbied Health Canada, CFIA and AAFC to raise the proposed $30,000 threshold or create an exception for farms selling direct to market.

Farms not exempt from this exception include meat destined for export or interprovincial trade, prepared meat products, dairy products, fish, eggs, processed egg products, or processed fruits and vegetables, or if an export certificate is requested.

The regulations will be phased in and will come into effect on January 15, 2019. Further review of the regulations is underway and highlights will be communicated in the future.

A link to the regulations can be found here.

Preventive Control Requirements

Tools and supporting resources for the Safe Food for Canadians Act and regulations can be found here.