Improved Food Inspection Model
Revised Draft

Guide for navigating the document

A key component of the proposed model is the mandatory licensing of importers, exporters and domestic food businesses that prepare food for interprovincial and export trade. Section 2 and Annex A outline the conditions and processes around licensing.

A key requirement of the licensing regime is the condition that licence holders develop and implement effective preventive control plans suitable to the size and complexity of their operations. Section 2 and Annex B provide additional details on the proposed elements of the preventive control plan and the expected outcomes and performance criteria. CFIA inspectors would be guided by the inspection activities described in Annex B to assess how effectively a licence holder’s preventive control plan achieves regulatory compliance with the expected outcomes.

Section 3 provides information about the risk-based inspection framework and the elements the CFIA would consider when the determining the level of inspection oversight. The CFIA will prioritize inspecting licence-holder’s where the consequence of non-compliance would have a greater impact on public health.

Section 4 and Annex C provide an overview of inspection, including work planning, priorities and the general procedures inspectors would follow when conducting an on-site or follow-up inspection.

Section 5 and Section 6 cover the unique aspects associated with imported and exported food commodities. The licensing conditions proposed under the model apply to both importers and exporters, including the requirement to develop, implement and maintain a preventive control plan. Importers and exporters may need to develop alternate strategies to address risk. For importers, some examples of alternate strategies are included in Annex B exporters will need strategies to meet the foreign country’s regulatory requirements. In both cases, the Product and Process Control element of the preventive control plan would need to reflect controls appropriate to managing compliance with either Canada’s import requirements or the foreign country requirements in the case of exports.

Section 7 and Annex D are dedicated to a single, streamlined compliance and enforcement strategy across all food. Annex D provides an overview of the range of possible responses the CFIA may use to respond to an incident of non-compliance.

Section 8 System performance and continuous improvement and Annex E outline a system for continuous improvement, which focusses on consistency and quality of delivery, system design and overall system performance. As part of inspection modernization, the CFIA proposes to introduce a more systematic way of monitoring and evaluating overall effectiveness of the food safety system. While additional development in this area is required, some preliminary key performance indicators are outlined for stakeholders’ consideration in Annex E.

Section 9 provides a general overview of how transparency would be applied under the proposed model. The CFIA has made a commitment to providing the public with useful and timely information on its programs and services, regulatory requirements, and the outcomes of its enforcement actions and decisions. The CFIA is examining opportunities for making the results of inspection available to the public to enable consumers to make informed buying choices.

Annex F provides an overview of the CFIA’s initial thinking about exemptions. Further consultations on exemptions will be carried out as part of the CFIA’s regulatory modernization initiative.

Annex G provides a draft glossary of terminology. It is designed to standardize the language used and support consistent interpretation of terminology used in the food inspection program.

Throughout the document, there are grey call-out boxes containing information on changes from the initial draft improved food inspection model.

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