Low-Acid and Acidified Low-Acid Foods In Hermetically Sealed Containers - Visual Inspection Protocol

8.0 Reinspection

Reinspection shall be carried out under the authority of the regulatory agency having jurisdiction.

Prior to the reinspection, the owner or legal agent may do any or all of the following, provided the details of the intended work are outlined in the request for reinspection and are approved by the regulatory agent having jurisdiction:

  1. cull the lot;
  2. remove the suspect codes from a mixed code lot;
  3. request that the lot be reinspected on a code-by-code basis or a lot basis.

Culled defective containers will be examined in conjunction with the cull report. Evaluate the report to determine if a Health Risk Assessment is required.

8.1 Compliance Sampling

The compliance sample consists of 1250 containers taken from throughout the lot.

8.1.1 Selection of Containers

Determine the number of containers in each case.

# of containers per case # of cases to sample # of containers to pick from case
5 or less 250 all
6 - 12 209 6
13 - 60 105 12
61 - 250 79 16
251 or more 55 24

In accordance with the above table, identify the number of containers in a case, select the required number of cases to be opened for inspection, and examine the required number of containers from each to be opened.

For lots having less than 1250 containers, the entire lot must be examined and the total number of containers must be recorded on the report form.

All 1250 containers shall be examined by the inspector and the result of the examination recorded and maintained on file.

8.1.2 Label Removal (see note at beginning of document)

  1. The labels will be removed from all containers in the compliance sample by the inspector in order to permit a thorough examination of the containers.
  2. When a defect and the relationship to the label are important, mark the label so that it can be placed in the same position on the container prior to its removal.
  3. Examine the inside surface of the label for stains.

8.2 Decision - Compliance Sample

If the results of the visual examination* show:

  1. no serious defects - permit distribution of lot;
  2. one or more serious defects - the lot may not be offered for sale or distribution.

* A visual inspection may also include results obtained through destructive examination (teardown and sectioning) of sample units.

Where an inspector needs to further assess a defect, the inspector may consult with other people, knowledgeable in the area of container integrity defects, or submit the containers in question to the laboratory for further analysis. The lot must be detained pending a final decision.

8.3 Disposition of the Lot

Lots which do not meet Canadian requirements are not permitted for sale or distribution in Canada.

The legal agent may:

  1. remove the imported lot from Canada with the approval of the government agency having jurisdiction;
  2. destroy the lot under the supervision of the government agency having jurisdiction.

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