Feed Facility Record Removal and Retention Policy

June 2009

Section 7 (d) of the Feeds Act provides the authority for an inspector to remove production records from facilities for the purpose of review or as evidence of non-compliance. These records are created and/or used by the facility under consideration, and are not the property of Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA). Documents removed for review generally consist of mixing formulae, mixing sheets, product labels, and any other records requiring access to information or tools not available on-site. Where reasonable, records should be reviewed at the facility. However, the determination of which of these records to remove for review is the prerogative of the inspector. Determining factors may include:

• complexity of the records
• distance from the inspectors office
• adequacy of conditions to allow for review at facility

The authority to remove these documents carries the obligation to manage them in a manner that respects the confidentiality expectations of the facility and meets CFIA's regulatory obligations. Those obligations are outlined below:

• Records must not be shared with other facilities.
• Records must be stored in a manner that respects confidentiality.
• Records that contain evidence of non-compliance with the Regulations are to be kept for 10 years.
• Records of feed facilities that can be linked to a known or suspected Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) case should be retained and not disposed until completion of the BSE Class Action lawsuit, since those documents may be relevant to the case.
• Records of feed facilities that are not related to either a known or suspected BSE case or evidence of non-compliance are not subject to regulatory record retention obligations. The following protocol should be followed when dealing with this type of record:
  • records are to be kept for one year or until the next inspection where similar records are reviewed (whichever is longer)
  • after this period has lapsed, those records can then be returned to the facility or
  • destroyed under Library and Archives Canada's Authority for the Destruction of Transitory Records, the instrument by which the Librarian and Archivist of Canada authorizes the destruction of records deemed to be transitory in nature so long as written permission to do so from the facility is obtained.

For additional information on this authority, please consult Part Two of the Multi-Institutional Disposition Authorities (MIDA)