The CFIA is Modernizing with the Safe Food for Canadians Act
From The Lawyers Weekly
Intended to harmonize Canada’s food supply rules with those of the FSMA, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) is developing a more comprehensive food inspection approach across all imported, exported and domestic food commodities — for both interprovincial and international trade — under the Safe Food for Canadians Act. Under the new rules to be phased in this year and finalized in 2015, all companies will need to obtain a federal license administered by CFIA.
The CFIA will also conduct more inspections and enforce cases of non-compliance. In addition, the types of regulated commodities are expanding to include a much broader range of food categories, including coffee, baked goods, baby formula and spices.
Complementary to the above programs is an initiative by the Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA) to extend the benefits of Customs Self-Assessment (CSA) by expanding the program to include food products regulated by the CFIA. Under the proposed changes, the CBSA will implement a streamlined clearance model for all of a trusted importer’s shipments, providing obvious cost savings, operational flexibility and risk mitigation. However, the extremely stringent guidelines must be adhered to and importers must meet additional CFIA requirements.