CFIA modernizes food inspection regulations
Thursday, May 22, 2014
by SUSAN MANN
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency has taken another step in its efforts to modernize its inspection system with the release of a draft document for public comment.
People have until July 1 to comment on the document, called Integrated Agency Inspection Model. It’s on the CFIA website at: www.inspection.gc.ca. CFIA is also setting up webinars for online consultations.
Jim Laws, Canadian Meat Council executive director and a member of the ad-hoc advisory committee of CFIA’s inspection modernization, says for the meat industry “there’s not a lot new because we’ve already been under very stringent food inspection rules for a long time.”
But “we are, at the same time, hoping there will be some advantages to the new system where some highly specific regulations will be removed” and the system will be based more on risk, he notes, adding the CFIA’s risk analysis model should reduce some requirements that are “perhaps too stringent on the meat sector.”
There are some new proposals being considered, including requiring importers to be licensed.
Laws says the new proposals are not expected to add costs to meat processors but other sectors that don’t know how to write a HACPP (Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points) plan or that don’t have a food safety enhancement program “will have to make sure they have those in place” and they will be facing additional costs. “They haven’t had to demonstrate what food safety controls they have in place” but once the new inspection model is implemented they be required to.
CFIA says in a notice on its website the integrated inspection model “will apply globally recognized risk management concepts based on prevention.” The guiding principles of the model include that it is:
- Founded in science, based on risk and uses common inspection procedures and tools.
- Aligned with international standards, such as ones developed by the Codex Alimentarius Commission.
- Based on the premise that industry is responsible for its products and processes and must demonstrate ongoing compliance with legislation.
- Flexible to accommodate the complexity and size of operations.
- Supported by information management and information technology solutions.
As part of inspection modernization, CFIA says it is developing a common set of inspection policies and procedures supplemented by commodity-specific inspection materials. “These materials will clearly link the regulations to their policy intent and provide functional direction to CFIA staff regarding the regulation requirements to be verified.”
Laws says many of the guiding principles of the new integrated inspection model are not new for the meat industry. “We’ve had mandatory HACPP for many years now.” But other sectors that have not mandatorily had to follow those procedures, such as fruits and vegetables “are now also going to have to follow these procedures,” he notes.
Laws says inspection modernization is working in concert with the new Safe Food for Canadians Act. That Act received Royal Assent Nov. 22, 2012 and consolidates authorities and requirements of several acts, including Agricultural Products Act, the Fish Inspection Act, the Meat Inspection Act, and the food provisions of the Consumer Packaging and Labelling Act. Once the Safe Food for Canadians Act is fully in force these other acts and regulations will be repealed.
But the Safe Food for Canadians Act doesn’t change the fines and penalties of Health Canada’s Food and Drugs Act and its regulations, which will continue to exist separately and continue to apply to all food sold in Canada.
Inspection modernization should be completed and put into place by early 2015, Laws says. BF