Industry - Roles in Food Safety

Industry is required to adopt science-based risk management practices to minimize food safety risks. If there is a food safety emergency, the CFIA, Health Canada, the Public Health Agency of Canada and provincial agencies take the appropriate actions and work with the food industry to deal with the problem, quickly and effectively.

Any issue with the safety of a particular food product or ingredient can have a major impact on public health, public confidence and the reputation and success of an industry's business. It can also lead to legal penalties.

It is in the food industry's best interest to comply with regulations. In fact, industry works to:

• Identify potential sources of food contamination
• Update production practices to eliminate risk
• Comply with the inspection and testing protocols
• Pull unsafe products from the marketplace

Industry monitors their production processes to ensure food safety by conducting their own inspection and testing programs (some over and above what has been mandated by regulations) which also serves to maintain consistency and quality of their products.

The CFIA has the responsibility for identifying when a company is not complying to regulations and then subsequently verifying that company corrective actions were effective in dealing with the instance(s) of non-compliance. Should a company be unable or unwilling to correct the non-compliance, the CFIA will prevent the product from being distributed through various enforcement options such as suspension or removal of license to operate.

• Acts and regulations
• Regulated products and sectors

In Canada, all federally inspected meat and fish processing facilities must follow strict guidelines and rules for food safety.

Canada's food safety programs involve:

• Identifying what can go wrong
• Planning to prevent a problem
• Taking effective corrective actions when a problem is identified

The CFIA uses the Food Safety Enhancement Program (FSEP) and the Quality Management Program (QMP) to ensure that federally registered meat and fish establishments implement and maintain Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) plans.

HACCP is a science-based approach to food safety. It prevents problems before they occur.

This system acts as a safety plan: it covers all parts of the production process and identifies where problems might occur. Potential problem areas are regularly monitored so that final food product is free from contamination.

Implementation of the QMP and the FSEP is required for all federally registered fish and meat processing plants in Canada. Companies are required to develop and implement an in-plant quality control program based on internationally recognized HACCP principles outlined in the QMP and FSEP.

The Canadian On-Farm Food Safety Program is based on the HACCP system. It helps national producer organizations develop strategies and tools to educate producers and promote food safety.

Canadian importers are required to follow good importing practices for food, which is a voluntary code of practice guide.

The seven principles of HACCP are:

1. Identification of hazards.
2. Analyze hazards to determine "critical control points" (CCP).
3. Establish critical limits for each CCP.
4. Establish monitoring procedures.
5. Establish deviation procedures (e.g. corrective actions).
6. Establish verification procedures.
7. Establish record keeping and documentation procedures.

In a mandatory HACCP environment, industry is responsible for the food that they produce and market by using a preventative approach to food safety controls while the CFIA oversees industry's compliance to the regulatory requirements for HACCP. The CFIA verifies industry's compliance with regulations using inspection activities outlined in the Compliance Verification System.

In other federally registered sectors (non meat and fish), industry has voluntarily implemented HACCP as a means of taking a proactive approach to preventing food safety problems. The CFIA currently has an inspection program in place for recognizing and auditing these HACCP systems.

The CFIA has also initiated HACCP within the non-federally registered sector by developing generic models for food considered to be higher risk and by working with other levels of government to standardize HACCP criteria across the country.

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.

The food industry, including importers, is responsible for ensuring that the food it markets is safe and complies with all applicable acts and regulations.

Industry importing and manufacturing products that fall into the "non-federally registered" sector are required to implement food safety, nutrition, composition and labelling provisions found in the federal Food and Drugs Act and Regulations and the Consumer Packaging and Labelling Act and Regulations.

• More information regarding the Imported and Manufactured Food Division and the products included in the "non-federally registered" sector.

Once a contaminated food product has been identified in the marketplace, industry works with the CFIA, Health Canada, the Public Health Agency of Canada and other public health officials to:

• alert the public of foods that may pose a serious health risk
• remove all unsafe food from the market place

More often than not, industry itself voluntarily initiates food recalls in Canada under the direction of the CFIA. The CFIA also conducts verification checks to ensure the recall has been conducted effectively.

If a firm is unwilling to remove an affected product or a recall has been found ineffective, the CFIA can issue a mandatory recall order under the CFIA act. The CFIA can also seize affected products and prosecute any firms which do not comply with recall orders.

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

Health Canada and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) share responsibility for federal food labelling policies in Canada. The CFIA verifies that the information consumers see on labels is truthful and not misleading. It does this by enforcing Canada's packaging, labelling and advertising laws.

Companies are responsible for ensuring that their products

• are safe,
• are correctly labelled, and
• meet all regulatory requirements.

The CFIA takes enforcement action on non-compliant products sold or distributed in Canada.

• Guide to Food Labelling and Advertising

CFIA’s Food Safety Action Plan (FSAP) aims to modernize and strengthen Canada's food safety system, and better support the collective responsibilities that government, industry and consumers have for food safety.

Industry is responsible for the safety of products it brings onto the market. The FSAP measures include ways to verify that industry's preventative approaches are working. This will support the CFIA's intention to shift from a reactive to a proactive approach.

Industry's role has been limited to informal engagement and discussions, given that the CFIA has focussed on the design and development of the key components of a food safety system. In Year 2 and beyond, the Agency will seek greater industry engagement in the development and delivery of FSAP objectives.