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Overview: importing maple syrup and maple products

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Introduction

This document outlines any requirements specific to importing maple syrup or maple products. In order to ensure that you will also meet the general import requirements for importing food and the preparation of your preventive control plan, please visit the Importing Food: A Step by Step Guide and A guide for preparing a preventive control plan – For importers.

The specific import requirements for importing maple syrup and maple products can be found in the Automated Import Reference System (AIRS). AIRS information is updated frequently so prior to importing you should verify AIRS to ensure that the import requirements have not changed.

General information

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) regulates maple syrup and maple products imported into Canada to ensure they are safe, wholesome and graded according to established standards. The CFIA also verifies maple syrup and products are labelled and packaged according to Canadian regulations and standards to avoid misleading consumers and facilitate orderly marketing.

Maple syrup is a pure, single ingredient food obtained exclusively by the concentration of maple sap or by the dilution or solution of a maple product, other than maple sap, in potable water. (for example, maple sugar, soft maple sugar, maple butter, maple taffy)

Resources

Refer to the CFIA web page Food-specific requirements and guidance – Maple to view various guidance documents including:

Preventive controls for maple products - Lead residues which provide information on preventive control practices to mitigate food safety risks associated with maple products

Standards of identity and grades for maple syrup and maple products

There are grades and standards referred to in the regulations for maple syrup and products. These standards of identity and grades have been combined into a collection of Documents incorporated by reference – Safe Food for Canadians Regulations. Imported maple syrup and maple products must meet the requirements set out in following:

Labelling requirements

Imported maple and maple products must also meet the labelling and packing requirements outlined in the SFCR. The Industry labelling tool is a food labelling reference for all industry that outlines the requirement for food labelling and advertising.

Labelling requirements for maple products outline the labelling requirements specific for maple and maple products.

Organic maple syrup and maple products

Imported organic maple syrup and maple products may be certified to the Canadian Organic Standard by a CFIA accredited Certification Body or be certified in accordance with an equivalency arrangement established between Canada and the exporting country. Where an equivalency arrangement is in place, organic products may be certified by a certification body accredited by that country and recognized by Canada. All relevant Canadian legislation would also continue to apply for the imported product.

Any person who imports a product or markets it in Canada as an organic product must be able to demonstrate, at all times, that the product meets one of the requirements set out above and must retain the documents attesting that the product is organic.

For further information about organic products refer to Organic products.

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