Food Safety Recognition Program

The Food Safety Recognition Program includes the On-Farm Food Safety Recognition Program and the Post-Farm Food Safety Recognition Program, which provides government recognition of on-farm and post-farm food safety systems developed and implemented by national industry organizations in order to:

  • enhance food safety;
  • maintain the confidence of Canadian consumers; and
  • facilitate market access.

The Food Safety Recognition Program is led by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) with the participation of the provincial and territorial governments.

Recognition acknowledges that a food safety program has been developed in line with Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points principles, as defined by the Codex Alimentarius Commission; conforms to federal, provincial and territorial legislation, policy and protocols; and that a Food Safety Management System has been implemented in an effective and consistent manner.

By providing a recognition framework that supports national, auditable, industry-led, HACCP-based food safety programs, the CFIA can support its goal of safeguarding Canada’s food supply along the whole food continuum.

National food industry organizations from the on-farm or post-farm non-federally registered sectors can choose to submit their food safety systems to the Food Safety Recognition Program for technical review. These systems may be stand alone or built into a private sector scheme and may contain associated initiatives such as biosecurity or traceability.

About the initiative

The Food Safety Recognition Program is a collaborative effort funded by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada under the Growing Forward initiative. The CFIA leads the program with the participation of industry as well as provincial, territorial governments and other federal departments.

For more information

To learn more about the Food Safety Recognition Program please contact James Sefton - National Coordinator, Food Safety Recognition Program at James.Sefton@inspection.gc.ca.

Links to the industry organizations