Annex K: Activity Code 9 - Inspection Facilities Approval

1. Scope

This Annex describes the procedures for registered establishments to obtain eligibility to operate as an inspection facility for imported meat products.

2. Introduction

All establishments eligible for import inspection must be:

  1. registered and licensed under the Meat Inspection Act and Regulations, 1990; and,
  2. have facilities designed for import inspection described in section 3.5.7, Chapter 3 of the Meat Hygiene Manual of Procedures (MOP).

For an existing registered, licensed establishment to become a facility that is eligible to inspect imported meat products, the establishment must have suitable facilities as described in section 3.5.7, Chapter 3, MOP.

2.1 Import re-inspection Activity Code 9

Activity code 9 designates facilities approved for the inspection of detained or imported meat products. This code is further categorized as:

  • 9 (A) Cooked, frozen, boneless beef from South America.
  • 9 (B) Meat products other than cooked, frozen, boneless beef from South America.
  • 9 (C) Meat products not requiring refrigeration.
  • 9 (B/US) or 9 (C/US) Meat products described in (B) and (C) which are imported from the United States.

Activity Code 9 (A) is restricted to establishments located near seaports, due to animal health concerns with foot and mouth disease in some South American countries. Eligibility for category 9 (B/US) or 9 (C/US) is described in section 5 of this annex.

3. Legislation

Meat Inspection Act

9 (2) Every person who imports a meat product into Canada shall, as soon as possible, deliver it, in its imported condition, to a registered establishment for inspection by an inspector.

Meat Inspection Regulations, 1990

27.(1) An application for the registration of an establishment for one or more of the following activities shall be made to the Agency's Executive Director, Operations, for the area in which the establishment is or is to be located, in a form approved by the Director:

  • (c) the inspection of imported or detained meat products requiring refrigeration or freezing; and
  • (d) the inspection of imported or detained meat products not requiring refrigeration or freezing.

4. Procedures for a registered establishment to apply for an activity code 9

4.1 Management of a registered establishment must contact the inspector in charge (IC) of the facility to inquire about the addition of this activity code to their existing license.

4.2 The inspector in charge will discuss the requirements associated with the activity code. The requirements for approval are:

  1. for frozen/refrigerated products: the establishment meets the requirements for re-inspection facilities as outlined in section 3.5.7, Chapter 3, MOP;

    or

    For products not requiring refrigeration, the establishments meets the requirements for re-inspection facilities at outlined in section 3.5.7, Chapter 3, MOP;

  2. that inspection activities are able to be conducted at this establishment as outlined in Annex O of this chapter, and the facility has the equipment necessary to handle the type of imported product being presented (e.g. sufficient space for the unloading, staging and sample selection of products for inspection, suitable storage areas, etc.);
  3. management understands the responsibilities associated with approval to become an inspection facility and develop any required procedures if necessary (e.g. documentation control, transportation requirements, seal control, inspection room sanitation procedures etc.); and
  4. the inspector has an office equipped with a telephone, computer hook up and locked file cabinet, as per Chapter 3, section 3.5.9 of the MOP and the Meat Inspection Regulations, 1990 28 (6)(b).

4.3 If the operator wishes to proceed and can meet all the requirements as outlined in 4.2 above, the following information must be submitted through the inspector in charge (with consultation from program specialist if required):

  • a completed form CFIA/ACIA 4198 (Supplement to Application for Registration for Licence to Operate a Registered Establishment);
  • a summary of proposed changes;
  • assurances from management that the proposal is in accordance with all requirements; and,
  • a copy of the blueprint reflecting the proposed changes.

4.4 All information from the operator is to be carefully reviewed by the inspector in charge and the National Specialist in the Import Program, Meat Programs Division (MPD), to ensure compliance with the regulations. Following this review, submissions requiring blueprint acceptance will be forwarded with recommendation for or against acceptance to the Area Program Specialist in charge of plant evaluation. Refer to Chapter 3 of the MOP.

4.5 A final inspection by the inspector in charge and/or Area Program Specialist should be conducted and reported accordingly to ensure compliance with all requirements.

4.6 CFIA operations must provide confirmation that they will be able to provide the service for re-inspection and the hours of operation for which inspection staff would be available (if applicable).

5. Registered Establishment Approval to inspect meat exported from the United States

Only establishments with approved activity codes 9B/US or 9C/US will be eligible to inspect meat products imported from the United States.

Establishments must be registered with function code 9 before they will be considered for eligibility for function code 9B/US or 9C/US.

5.1 Procedures to obtain activity codes 9B/US or 9C/US

  1. The United States exporter must contact USDA/FSIS/Export Staff, Office of International Affairs, 14th & Independence Avenue, SW, Room 2137S, Washington, DC 20250, and request a specific Canadian establishment be listed for import inspection. Such requests must be accompanied by the name, location address, postal code, phone, fax numbers and management contact of the Canadian establishment.
  2. The USDA/FSIS/Office of International Affairs will make a request to the National Specialist, Import Programs, MPD in Ottawa to allow the specific Canadian establishment to inspect meat exported from the United States.
  3. The National Specialist, Import Program, International Programs, MPD, will notify the management of the Canadian Registered establishment of the request. If they are interested in this request, they should contact the Meat Import Program Specialist or the import coordinator at the Area Office responsible for this establishment.
  4. The import program specialist or import coordinator from the Area will make arrangements for an inspection to be conducted.
  5. The CFIA inspector must visit the establishment to verify the requirements have been met. A written report must provide the following assurances:
    1. that the establishment meets the requirements for inspection facilities as outlined in Chapter 3, section 3.5.7 of the MOP;
    2. that inspection activities are able to be conducted at this establishment as outlined in Annex O, Chapter 10, MOP (e.g. sufficient space for the unloading, staging and sample selection of import shipments for cursory/visual inspection, suitable storage areas etc.);
    3. management understands the responsibilities associated with approval to become an inspection facility and develops any required procedures if necessary (i.e. documentation control, transportation requirements, seal control, inspection room sanitation procedures etc.); and,
    4. the inspector has an office equipped with a telephone, computer hook up and locked file cabinet, as per Chapter 3, section 3.5.9, MOP and the Meat Inspection Regulations, 1990 28 (6)(b).
  6. The report should also indicate:
    1. for which of the following classes of meat products the establishment qualifies and wishes to provide an inspection service:

      R = Refrigerated
      FT = Frozen/Thawed
      FO = Frozen/Other
      NR = Non Refrigerated

    2. Confirmation that CFIA operations will be able to provide the service to those establishments and the hours of operation for which inspection staff would be available.
  7. The Area Import Program Specialist or the Area Import Operations Coordinator will verify information above and submit a written report along with his/her recommendations for acceptance/rejection to the National Specialist, Import Programs, MPD in Ottawa.
  8. The National Specialist will review the report and, if acceptable:
    • advise the CFIA Registrar of the establishments function code change; and
    • advise the FSIS of the establishments inclusion for import re-inspection.

5.2 A program review should be conducted every two years when import inspections occur on a regular basis or sooner if the establishment hasn't received an inspection assignment in the previous year. Annex K-1 of this chapter (available for CFIA personnel use only) should be used by the IC to identify any deficiencies to program requirements. Corrective actions must be taken by the operator in order for the facility to remain eligible for re-inspection activities (Activity Code 9).

6. Cancellation of Activity Code 9

Section 27 (4)(a) of the Meat Inspection Regulations, 1990 states:

The registration of an establishment for an activity set out in subsection (1)

  • (a) shall lapse if the activity is not carried out in the establishment for a period of 12 consecutive months; and
  • (b) may be cancelled at the request of the registrant if no activity is carried out in the establishment and there is no licence to operate the establishment.

Operators that are not actively involved in import re-inspection may have the activity cancelled in accordance with the above regulation.