Evaluation of the CFIA's Meat Programs
Final Report
2.0 Program Profile

2.1 Meat Programs

The following is a high-level overview of the Meat Programs. Due to the technical complexities of the Meat Programs, a detailed description of activities has been prepared separate from the evaluation report, and can be found in Annex A.

The Meat Programs are a long-standing component of the CFIA's food safety programming. They are in place to protect the safety of domestic, imported and exported meat and meat products.

The Meat Programs use a considerable portion of the Agency's annual resources. From fiscal year 2010-11 to 2014-15, they accounted for between 30 and 36 per cent of the Agency's overall expenditures. During the same period, inspection and surveillance accounted for between 74 and 80 per cent of total Meat Programs expenditures. In 2014-15, the budget for the CFIA Meat Programs was $301 million. A table of expenditure data is included in Annex G.

Pursuant to section 11 of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency Act, the CFIA is responsible for the administration and enforcement of various statutes including the Meat Inspection Act. As part of those responsibilities, the CFIA verifies that federally registered establishments,^Footnote 5 the operators of those establishments and the meat products prepared in those establishments comply with the requirements of the Meat Inspection Act and Meat Inspection Regulations. The CFIA also verifies that meat imported into Canada originates from countries and establishments whose meat inspection systems were approved and that the meat products meet Canadian standards.

The Meat Inspection Act and Meat Inspection Regulations address all areas of the Agency's Meat Programs, including imports, exports, slaughter, registration of establishments, licencing of operators and animal and meat inspection.

Activities carried out within the Meat Programs include:

• Registering of establishments and licensing of operators
• Inspecting registered establishments
• Carrying out inspections and testing related to slaughter and processing
• Reviewing the meat safety systems of countries exporting meat products to Canada
• Inspecting imported meat products
• Certifying meat products for export
• Following the protocol for "high visibility issues"^Footnote 6 when required, including a range of activities related to incident management and recalls.

The majority of Meat Programs activities are delivered by the CFIA's regional offices, which are comprised primarily of Operations Branch staff. A number of other branches within the CFIA, including Science, Policy and Programs, and Communications and Public Affairs, also have responsibilities related to the Meat Programs.

2.2 Inspection Verification Office

In January 2013, the CFIA established the Inspection Verification Office (IVO) as a pilot initiative to provide assurance on whether inspectors are doing the right things and whether they are doing them correctly. The IVO is responsible for verifying meat inspection activities at a number of chosen establishments through spot checks conducted by the Inspection Verification Teams (IVTs) with very short notice.

2.3 Listeria

Following the Maple Leaf listeria outbreak in 2008, and the 2009 publication of the Weatherill Report, the CFIA started to enhance its listeria policies and inspection activities. The Agency's funding was enhanced starting in 2009 to increase its focus on listeria by hiring more inspectors, enhancing training, improving information technology for inspectors, updating policies, directives and manuals, improving test methods, conducting more tests and enhancing its public communications.