Chapter 10
Certification of Fish and Fish Products

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1. Scope

This document outlines the policies, procedures and regulations governing the certification of fish and fish products.

2. Authority

• Fish Inspection Act, R.S.C., 1970, c.F-12; Sections 9(1) and (2), 14(1), (2) and (3)
• Fish Inspection Regulations (FIR), C.R.C., 1978, c. 802; Part I, General.

Section 9 (FIR)

9.(1) Where a person requests an inspection certificate for fish, an inspector shall

1. where the person operates the establishment in which the fish was processed, inspect the processing record of the establishment to determine whether an inspection of the fish is required and, if it is required, inspect the fish; and
2. in any other case, inspect the fish.

(2) An inspector shall issue an inspection certificate for fish where

1. the inspector determines that an inspection of the fish is not required; or
2. the inspector determines, following an inspection of the fish, that the fish meets the requirements of the Act and these Regulations.

(3) A person who requests an inspection certificate for fish shall pay an inspection service fee of

1. $100, where an inspection of the fish is performed; and
2. $25, where an inspection of the fish is not performed.

(4) The amount payable by a person under subsection (3) shall not exceed $10,000 in a calendar year. SOR/96-364, s.4

Section 12 (FIR)

Where an inspector has reasonable grounds to believe that fish has deteriorated after the date on which it was inspected or that it otherwise fails to meet the requirements of these Regulations, he may again inspect such fish.

Section 13 (FIR)

(1) Where an inspection is made under Section 12 and the fish is found not to be of the grade marked on the container, any inspection marks and quality designations on the container shall be removed or obliterated and any inspection certificate that may have been issued for the fish is void.

(2) No person shall use an inspection certificate if he knows that the certificate is void.

2.1 Definitions

Certification is the procedure by which official certification bodies or officially recognised certification bodies provide written or equivalent assurance that foods or food control systems conform to requirements. Certification of food may be, as appropriate, based on a range of inspection activities which may include continuous on-line inspection, auditing of quality assurance systems, or examination of finished products (Codex - Principles for Food Import and Export).

Inspection is the examination of food or systems for control of food, raw materials, processing, and distribution including in-process and finished product testing, in order to verify that they conform to requirements (Codex - Principles for Food Import and Export).

Lot, with respect to fish other than fresh fish, means a shipment or part of a shipment of fish that is of the same species, is processed in the same manner by the same producer, is packaged in the same size of container and bears the same label (FIR - Section 2).

Quality Management Program means a fish inspection and control system, that includes procedures, inspections and records, for the purpose of verifying and documenting the processing of fish and the safety and quality of fish processed in, exported from, or imported into Canada (FIR - Section 2).

3. Policy

3.1 When a registered establishment or an export licence holder requests a specific certificate for his/her product, one must be issued, except where:

• the fish or fish products or the fish processing establishment do not meet the requirements of the Fish Inspection Regulations;
• the conditions of the certificate are not met at the time of production; and
• products contain additives, chemical contaminants or bacteriological organisms at levels prohibited by the importing country, even if the levels are in compliance with Canadian requirements.

3.2 Although the CFIA will attempt to assist in providing information on the certification requirements of the destination country, if they are not known it is the primary responsibility of the exporter to identify foreign country requirements and obtain documents that can be verified with officials from the destination country. Known country requirements can be found in the Appendices to this Chapter.

3.3 Fish or fish products that exceed contaminant standards or guidelines established by Health Canada shall not be exported unless the product is in compliance with established standards, tolerances or guidelines of the receiving country, or the foreign regulatory agency has indicated in writing that the products are acceptable in their country. Where these fish are certified, the certificate cannot state that the fish meet the requirements of the Fish Inspection Regulations.

3.4 The details on each certificate or To Whom It May Concern Letter issued must be entered into the Export Certification System. The Product Inspection section at NHQ should be contacted to develop new or amended certificate templates as required.

3.5 Certificates may be issued for imported lots which are "processed" and subject to QMP controls in a registered establishment if the fish meets the requirements of the foreign country stated on the certificate, even if the product does not undergo substantial transformation according to domestic shift rules. (These products cannot be certified as product of Canada.)

3.6 For registered establishments with a QMP system in compliance with the FIR, it is required that 10% of lots intended for certification be inspected.

3.7 Subject to Section 3.8, for export license holders requesting certification of fish that were not processed in a registered plant (e.g., fisher-packers) it is required that 100% of the lots be inspected prior to certification.

3.8 Certificates may be granted without inspection to exporters who have a voluntary protocol between the establishment and the CFIA (e.g., Live Lobster Protocol). The voluntary protocol shall outline the required procedures and resulting privileges for the exporter, and must be signed by both the exporter and the CFIA in order to be in effect. Exporters operating with a voluntary protocol must meet all the requirements of the FIR and the protocol in order to receive an export certificate.

3.9 An inspector may sign a certificate based on an official inspection by another inspector.

3.10 In instances where inspectors are asked to supply certificate(s) for a re-consignment or sub-lot, they must ensure that the product still meets the requirements of the original certificate(s) and that all pertinent product information on the original certificate(s) is incorporated on the certificate(s) for the re-consignment or sub-lot(s). Certificates for re-consigned lots or sub-lots shall not be issued without an inspection of the lot if the interval between the original certificate and the certificate request exceeds:

• 7 days for fresh product
• 30 days for salted fish
• 180 days for frozen products
• 365 days for canned products
• the best before date for any product.

3.11 Where an Inspector has reason to believe that the condition of the fish/fish products has deteriorated since the inspection, another inspection shall be conducted.

3.12 Only one original certificate per lot is to be issued for each type of certificate, but two or more different types of certificates can be issued on one lot. The inspector or exporter can make copies of the certificate. If certificates are issued to replace lost or damaged certificates, then a statement is required on the replacement certificate to cancel the first certificate.

3.13 Where lots are not accessible to an inspector for inspection, or the company's records of inspection pertaining to the lot(s) are not available for verification, then the inspection cannot be carried out and a certificate cannot be issued.

3.13.1 Exporters may request replacement certificates for fish products which have been exported from Canada and are therefore no longer available for inspection. Replacement certificates may be issued in legitimate cases if the integrity of the shipment has not been compromised. Such legitimate cases would include, but are not limited to:

• administrative errors;
• lost or damaged certificates;
• changes to the consignee; and/or
• last minute changes to the quantity shipped.

3.13.2 Replacement certificates will not be issued for a shipment that has been imported into another country.

3.14 In instances where historical data is available for chemical contaminants, e.g., mercury in some species of fish, laboratory analysis is not required to issue a certificate. Inspectors who receive a request for a certificate concerning chemical content are to contact the appropriate CFIA personnel to reference the data base to ensure compliance before issuing the certificate.

3.15 The appropriate fees will be charged for all requests for certification and all inspections for certification, even where a certificate was refused after a review of records or a lot failed inspection.

4. Procedures

4.1 A company requesting a certificate should complete the certificate in advance and provide it to a CFIA office for signature. The information on the certificate or the certification request should identify:

1. certificate type(s)
2. lot location
3. date available for inspection
4. date certificate required
5. lot size
6. product description (size, grade, type)
7. consignee
8. consignor
9. identification marks (production code)
10. mode of transportation (if known).

4.2 In order to determine if the lot requires inspection, the inspector is required by regulation to review the processing record of the establishment, which would consist of the following actions where appropriate:

• ensure the establishment had a valid registration and met all certification requirements for the dates the product was processed;
• ensure that there are no confirmed complaints for the product or that the product was never recalled; and
• ensure that the product does not require 100% inspection prior to certification.

4.3 In order to issue a Certificate for a European Union (EU) country, the inspector must also be satisfied that in addition to meeting the requirements of the FIR:

1. the processor is on the EU List; and
2. that if the product was harvested by a foreign vessel, it had been inspected within the past 12 months and met the requirements of Schedule III or EU Directive EU/48/EEC. (In addition to Canada, the USA and New Zealand also have Veterinarian agreements with the EU that include fish products. Processors of shipments originating from these countries are not required to provide proof the harvesting vessels met the requirements of EU/48/EEC.)

4.4 When a certification request is received from a processor with a voluntary protocol, the inspector should review the specific requirements of the protocol to determine if an inspection is required prior to making a decision to certify the product.

4.5 If an inspection of a lot is required prior to issuing a certificate, the lot will be inspected as specified in Chapter 2 of this manual. The samples should pass inspection for the requirements for sensory evaluation, labelling claims and ingredient declarations, net content evaluation if the product is pre-packaged, and visual container integrity for hermetically sealed metal containers.

4.6 If the product is found to be in compliance with the FIR, the requesting company is to complete the certificate and the inspector will review the certificate before signing. Any changes on the certificate must be initialled by the inspector. When a certificate is issued, any space remaining in the product description section is to be marked out by a Z.

4.7 Requests for replacement certificates for consignments that are no longer available for inspection in Canada should be accompanied by a letter from the exporter that sets out the reasons for the request, including an explanation of what happened, where it happened, and who was involved. This letter should be kept in CFIA's files.

4.8 When a replacement certificate is issued, or a certificate is voided or cancelled, the certificate and all copies of the certificate should be returned to the Agency before a new certificate can be issued. If the originals cannot be returned, then the exporter should provide a letter to the CFIA that describes the reasons why the original certificate was not returned.

4.9 A replacement certificate should have the following statement added just above the Inspector's seal: "This cancels and supersedes certificate no. dated ."

4.10 All stocks of obsolete export certificates or computerized templates of obsolete certificates must be destroyed.

4.11A fee of $25 per certificate where no inspection was performed or $100 per certificate where an inspection was performed is to be charged unless the establishment has reached the $10,000 cap for certification fees.

4.12 The Canadian Inspection Certificates are to be completed as follows:

1. Product Description - A full and accurate description must be provided. In the case of graded product, the class, grade, size and/or moisture content is to be indicated if specified by regulations.
2. Lot Size - The number of boxes, cartons, packages, etc. in the lot, the number of individual containers in a box, etc., and the weight of the individual container. The weight of the individual container is not required if the product is to be weighed at time of sale.
3. Consignor - The name and address of the person or company that is marketing the merchandise.
4. Consignee - The name and address of the person or company to whom the merchandise is being sold.
5. Marks - The identification marks such as port marks, shipping marks, date codes, name of plant, registration number or any other marks that specifically identify the lot covered by the certificate.
6. Via - The mode of transportation and the name of the transporting company. If the information is not known, complete this section as follows: "Not known at time of inspection".
7. Place - The location where the certificate was issued.
8. Date - The date when the certificate was issued.
9. Inspector - The name of the inspector signing the certificate. Inspectors issuing certificates are to print their name above or below their signatures.

4.13 Instructions for completing foreign country certificates are provided in the specific appendices. For imported products that are processed in registered establishments but which do not undergo substantial transformation, the country of origin must be identified on the certificate.

4.14 All certificates should be signed and stamped using ink that is a different colour from the other text on the certificate. Inspectors should then crimp the certificate over their signature. If the certificate is formatted on more than one page, each page of the certificate should be signed and stamped in a different colour ink with a crimp over the inspector's signature. The stamp and crimp should be placed so that they do not obliterate the identity and title of the signing officer.

Any copies of the original certificate must be identified as a copy and should be readily distinguishable from the original document.

The seal and crimp used for the certificate must be in the following format:

5. Forms/Documents

Note: Copies of all current forms and certificates are located on the Agency Intranet site.

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Appendix A
Live Lobster Certification Protocol (LLCP)

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