Government - Roles in Food Safety

In Canada, food safety begins with effective laws. The CFIA’s mandate is vast and complex, with responsibility flowing from 14 acts and their related regulations.

As a science-based regulator the CFIA:

• manages food safety risks,
• responds to food safety emergencies,
• carries out food recalls, and
• prevents the spread of animal disease to humans.

All of this is done by national groups of inspectors, veterinarians, scientists and other professionals stationed in field offices, laboratories and food-processing facilities across the country. Wherever possible, this work is done in partnership with the provinces.

Through this network, the CFIA enforces the policies and standards set by Health Canada, which govern the safety and nutritional quality of food sold in Canada.

• acts and regulations
• Science at Work - Safeguarding Canada's Food Supply and Our Plant and Animal Resources

The Agency inspects both domestic and imported foods—everything from seeds, feeds and fertilizers to fresh, prepared and packaged foods. It also does inspections, audits and testing of products, to verify that industry is complying with food safety regulations. And it enforces those regulations in federally registered food processing facilities.

• regulated products and sectors
• food imports
• number of inspectors

In Canada, to meet the stringent standards set by government, all federally registered meat and fish processing plants (plants that produce meat or fish for inter-provincial or international sale) must use a safety plan known as Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) .

This plan is a science-based approach to food safety that is accepted around the world. It emphasizes the prevention of problems before they occur.

HACCP is only mandatory in meat and fish processing facilities, however, under the Government of Canada’s Food Safety Action Plan, enhancements will be made in the fresh fruit and vegetable program. These enhancements will incorporate food safety requirements, based on HACCP principles, for industry, with emphasis on the practices that contribute to the reduction of food safety risks.

The CFIA supports food processors who implement HACCP Systems in their facilities by providing initial HACCP Plan and prerequisite program review as well as ongoing monitoring through Compliance Verification System (see below) tasks and regulatory audits conducted by inspectors.

As part of HACCP, meat establishments monitor established points in the food production process where hazards may occur in their food-processing facilities. The CFIA verifies compliance to regulations, a part of which is monitoring these points in production, using a tool called the Compliance Verification System (CVS).

The CVS is used by CFIA inspection staff to verify that a company is following regulations, including the effectiveness and maintenance of a company’s HACCP plan. CVS activities include

• conducting on-site verification and employee interviews,
• product sampling, and
• review of a company's operational records.

Through the course of these activities, should an inspector identify a problem, a report is issued to the plant. The report requires the plant to correct the problem by a specified date. More serious problems will also require a written action plan submission as well. The inspector then follows up on or after that date to ensure the problem has been resolved.

The CVS has been used in all federally registered meat establishments since April 2008.

CFIA’s Agri-food Division develops and maintains food safety and consumer protection programs.

These programs cover products that are marketed by export, import and interprovincial trade, as follows:

• dairy;
• shell eggs;
• processed egg;
• honey;
• maple;
• fresh fruit and vegetables;
• processed fruit and vegetables; and
• organic products.

Each of these commodities is regulated by a specific set of regulations that are maintained by the Agri-food Division. The Canada Agricultural Products Act provides the authority to develop regulations for these commodities, which are intended for export, import or interprovincial trade.

Based on the Act and Regulations, the Agri-food Division develops policy, registration requirements, compositional standards, export certification requirements, quality-related grades, packaging standards, labelling requirements and sampling programs pertaining to chemical residues, microbiological contaminants and food additives for imported and domestic products.

The Agri-food Division provides tools and guidance to enable effective front-line service delivery by assigned inspection staff. These activities contribute toward a safe food supply and high-quality food for Canadians.

The Agri-food Division also participates internationally on committees - such as Codex - and works with foreign governments. These activities contribute toward food safety and consumer protection, as well as an effective and fair regulatory regime for Canadian industry.

Food offered for sale in Canada must meet Canadian food safety standards. This is true whether the food is produced in Canada or if it is imported.

The CFIA works with other governments so that food products imported into Canada meet these requirements.

A breakdown of everyone's roles follows:

• Importers are responsible for the safety of foods that they import into Canada.
• Manufacturers are responsible for ensuring that the materials they use, as well as the products they sell, meet federal requirements.
• The government's role is to
  • establish appropriate standards,
  • verify industry compliance with these standards, and
  • enforce these standards when companies are not complying with them.

The CFIA takes great care when reviewing requests by countries who wish to export food products to Canada. The requirements of an exporting country's health authority are thoroughly examined to verify that they comply with Canadian health standards. As well, foreign plants that want to export food products to Canada must be able to show that they consistently meet Canada's food safety standards.

The CFIA inspects imported products using a risk-based system. This means that the number of inspections depends on the level of risk. It takes into account the history of a product’s compliance. Regardless of the country the product came from, if the CFIA identifies that it does not meet regulatory requirements, the CFIA will take enforcement action. Enforcement action can mean several things, including prosecution.

In Canada, when a food safety emergency does occur, the CFIA, in partnership with Health Canada, the Public Health Agency of Canada, provincial agencies and the food industry, operates an emergency response system.

The CFIA works with public health authorities to monitor and analyze food-related outbreaks. Based on a health risk assessment, the CFIA works with others (such as industry associations and consumer protection groups) to implement food safety measures that protect Canadians.

There are approximately 350 food recalls/allergy alerts each year. About one-third of these recalls are due to undeclared ingredients that may cause severe allergic reactions in some people. If a product poses a serious health risk, the CFIA issues a public warning, advising consumers through the media.

• Sign up to receive email notifications of food recalls/allergy alerts of food recalls/allergy alerts
• Food labelling
• Food recalls/allergy alerts
• Food recalls and emergency response
• How does a recall happen?

The CFIA works closely with many partners so that Canadians can have a diverse and safe supply of food products, year-round.

In carrying out its mission, the CFIA works closely with

• Health Canada, the federal government department responsible for food safety policy and standards
• The Public Health Agency of Canada, the agency responsible for promoting and protecting the health of Canadians
• Provincial, territorial and municipal governments
• Universities
• Industry
• Consumer groups
• Consumer Association Roundtable
• Department of Fisheries and Oceans
• Environment Canada
• Expert Advisory Committee
• Provincial/territorial governments and local health authorities

The CFIA represents Canada at international standard-setting bodies for food safety, animal health and plant protection issues. In addition to domestic regulation, the Agency is responsible for regulating imported and exported products. Its actions in this area are guided by international obligations.

The CFIA plays a leadership role in food safety on the world stage. It does this by helping establish international standards for animal and veterinary public health.

International standards are created to protect countries from diseases being introduced into them. They are supported by sound scientific information. They are continually revised and updated to address scientific and technical issues raised by member countries.

The CFIA helps establish international standards in a number of areas such as

• import and export inspection,
• food additives and food hygiene,
• meat and meat products
• fish and fish products, and
• fresh fruit and vegetables.

Canada’s meat inspection system is based on international guidelines developed by Codex Alimentarius Commission and the World Health Organization, which are both agencies of the United Nations.

• International organizations

CFIA’s Food Safety Action Plan(FSAP), which started in 2008, is one element of the Government of Canada's broader Food and Consumer Safety Action Plan.

The FSAP is a five-year action plan that will modernize and strengthen Canada's food safety system.

The goal of FSAP is to increase collaboration and information sharing between government partners, industry and Canadians. As a result, by March 2013, the CFIA will have tools in place to better

• identify risks in the food supply,
• limit the possibility that these risks happen,
• improve import and domestic food controls, and
• identify importers and manufacturers.

and verify

• that industry's preventative approaches are working, and
• that there is rapid response when problems do occur.

With the emphasis on identification and prevention of potential problems before they occur, Canadians can feel more confident in the safety of the food they buy and serve their families.