The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) has issued a draft food inspection model as part of its Inspection Modernization: Optimizing Confidence in Food Safety plan. According to CFIA, the modernized approach to food inspection will apply to both imported and domestic commodities and, in addition to the inspection model, rely on modern science, improved data collection and better training and tools for CFIA inspectors. The new draft model apparently favors a risk-based approach to regulatory oversight and covers the following components: (i) licensing and registration, (ii) CFIA oversight, (iii) inspection, (iv) compliance and enforcement, and (v) system performance. In particular, food and beverage manufacturers would need to develop “preventative control plans scalable to the size and complexity of their operation” that “mitigate all sources of food safety risk and demonstrate that the measures effectively meet regulatory requirements.” CFIA would in turn determine the level of required oversight—enhanced, normal or reduced—based…
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Health Canada recently issued “Guidance for the Food Industry on Reducing Sodium in Processed Foods” as part of its effort “to help Canadians achieve the average sodium intake goal of 2300 mg per day by 2016.” According to Health Canada, which developed the voluntary guidance after receiving “significant input” from stakeholders, the benchmark sodium levels aim to help food manufacturers gradually reformulate their products to meet the nation’s sodium-reduction goals. To that end, the agency calculated the Sales Weighted Average (SWA) sodium content in milligrams per 100 grams “using the sodium levels of the products within a category weighted by their Canadian volume market share in kilograms (kg).” The 2016 proposed SWA sodium levels were then established “by reducing the baseline SWA sodium content by approximately 25% to 30%.” “The phased levels typically represent, respectively, 1/3 and 2/3 of the reduction required to meet the 2016 guiding benchmark SWA levels…
The Canadian government has issued a discussion document outlining a plan for a “stronger, more comprehensive inspection approach to further strengthen food safety.” Titled “Improved Food Inspection Model: The Case for Change,” the plan represents the Canadian Food Inspection Agency’s (CFIA’s) latest effort to keep up with a changing global “food landscape.” Last year, CFIA was allocated $100 million over a five-year period to modernize Canada’s food safety inspections. According to CFIA, the agency operates eight separate food inspection programs for dairy, eggs, fish and seafood, fresh fruits and vegetables, imported and manufactured food, maple, meat, and processed products that include honey. “Having eight food programs has resulted in the development and use of different risk management frameworks, inspection methods, and compliance verification and enforcement approaches,” the document states. “This challenges the CFIA to manage risks consistently across different types of establishments and different foods.” CFIA’s plan includes providing more…
Health Canada has reportedly notified companies that it will no longer accept natural-health product (NHP) applications for functional foods and similar products that are “represented, packaged and sold as foods.” According to media sources, the agency in a letter to industry explained that NHPs such as prepackaged beverages, protein mixes and other products resembling conventional foods would henceforth fall under food regulations and must adhere to food safety, labeling and marketing standards. Among the approximately 1,000 products affected are those whose manufacturers must work with Health Canada to substantiate health claims, those ready for market without formulation, and those that will need reformulation before accessing the market. The agency anticipates that, with the exception of energy drinks, foods currently being marketed as NHPs will conclude the transition process by the end of December 2012. See Post Media News, April 19, 2012. This latest move to re-categorize NHPs is apparently part…
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) has proposed amendments to its federal meat inspection rules to better align them with the regulations and policies of major trading partners such as the United States and the European Union. According to CFIA, the plan updates a 1990 rule but does not lower food safety standards. Instead, among other things, it would “repeal certain redundant requirements” to make it easier for small- to medium-sized slaughterhouses and meat-processing plants to achieve federal registration so that they could expand trade opportunities both in and outside Canada. Under current law, Canadian plants that are provincially registered cannot sell or export their meat products outside their home province unless they are also federally registered. According to CFIA, 730 establishments are federally registered and approximately 4,000 are not, most notably because “becoming federally registered is expensive, with costs varying greatly from establishment to establishment in relation to the volume…
A petition reportedly signed by more than one million citizens has urged the European Union (EU) to impose stricter rules on the transportation of livestock intended for slaughter. Initiated by World Horse Welfare, the petition challenged current EU regulations allowing transportation times to exceed 24 hours and instead requested an eight-hour maximum on all such journeys. With more than one million signatures needed to trigger a legislative review under the Lisbon Treaty, the long-running campaign evidently gained traction after a November 2011 European Commission (EC) report highlighted alleged failings in the enforcement of livestock welfare regulations. Meanwhile, Danish Socialist Member of Parliament (MEP) Dan Jørgensen has already collected pledges from 119 MEPs in an effort to acquire 378 signatures by March 15, 2012, at which point the European Parliament says it will officially back the measure. “I definitely expect the commission to act on this,” said Jørgensen. “The commission always…
Health Canada recently announced new measures that would reclassify energy drinks as food instead of a natural health product (NHP), thus requiring each can to bear a nutritional facts table. According to an October 6, 2011, press release, the new rules would also direct energy drink manufacturers to (i) limit caffeine content to 180 milligrams per single serving; (ii) indicate caffeine amounts on product labels and identify groups, such as children, “for whom high levels of caffeine are not recommended”; (iii) declare ingredients, nutrition and allergens; (iv) ensure that “types and levels of vitamins and minerals are within safe levels”; and (v) warn consumers not to mix the product with alcohol. The proposed approach would bring energy drinks under the purview of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, while compelling producers to report any consumer complaints to Health Canada as well as submit information about consumption and sales. The agency intends…
Canada has begun publishing the names of companies in violation of the country’s food, animal and plant-supply regulations. Reportedly aimed at improving accountability and transparency, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency’s (CFIA’s) website initiative now publishes such information as the (i) “food imports that have been refused entry into Canada”; (ii) “federally registered food establishments whose licenses have been suspended, cancelled or reinstated”; and (iii) “notices of violations with warning and penalties, including identifying repeat offenders of animal transport regulations.” See CFIA Press Release, March 16, 2011.
Canada and the European Union (EU) have signed a memorandum of understanding that tentatively settles a long trade dispute over hormone-treated cattle. According to the March 17, 2011, memorandum, European nations will expand market access to Canadian beef while Canada will suspend trade sanctions on $11 million worth of EU imports. Effective since the early 1980s, EU’s “non-discriminatory” ban on hormone-treated beef was challenged by Canada and the United States at the World Trade Organization (WTO) starting in 1996, according to the European Commission (EC), the oversight body for EU legislation. In 1999, Canada and the United States were given WTO permission to impose retaliatory sanctions on a number of EU exports. Canada’s sanctions applied to a variety of meat products “in the form of 100% duties.” “The memorandum foresees that Canada suspends these sanctions and the EU would extend its duty-free tariff-rate quota of high quality beef by an…
Canada Minister of Health Leona Aglukkaq has announced revisions to food allergen labeling regulations with the aim of reducing the number of food recalls and adverse reactions. The revisions strengthen the requirements by adding gluten sources to the list of allergens that must be disclosed on product labels and specifying in plain terms what food makers must say about their ingredients, including “hidden” allergens, gluten sources and sulphites. According to Health Canada, the changes will take effect August 4, 2012, to allow the industry time to implement them. The agency claims that the revisions will “provide a clearer ingredient label so that consumers can better avoid foods that contain the ingredient to which they are allergic or sensitive,” and will ensure that allergens, gluten sources and sulphites “will be labelled in a systematic and consistent manner.” See Health Canada Press Release, February 14, 2011.
