Canadian Food Safety Law Takes Effect

The Safe Food for Canadians Regulations (SFCR), which consolidates 14 Canadian food safety laws into one set of rules, went into effect January 15, 2019. The final rules were published in June 2018 and aim to “provide clear and consistent rules for food commodities so consumers can be confident that food on grocery shelves is safer to eat, whether it is produced in Canada or abroad.” The rules align with many U.S. rules to streamline importing and exporting of food products between the countries.

In addition, Health Canada has proposed rules for the sale of cannabis, including the proposed creation of “edible cannabis,” “cannabis extracts” and “cannabis topicals” classes of products. The agency also proposed “new regulatory controls to address the public health and public safety risks associated with these new classes of cannabis, including their appeal to youth and the risks of accidental consumption, overconsumption, and foodborne illness, among other risks.”