Below are some questions that we had wanted CFIA to address for all of you.
In General, to sell food products outside the province they would have to manufactured, processed, treated, preserved, graded, packaged and/or labelled by a licence holder.
Enforcement actions, where applicable, are proportionate to the food safety risk and the seriousness of the non-compliance. Factors such as potential or actual harm, compliance history and intent are also taken into consideration. Please see the CFIA’s web Page titled, “Graduated enforcement of the Safe Food for Canadians Regulations as of January 15, 2019”
Complaints can be submitted on the CFIA’s webpage titled, “Contact Us - Reporting a Food Safety or Labelling Concern”, or can be reported directly to your local CFIA Office.
This would have to be answered by Alberta Health Services.
You can refer to CFIA’s infographic titled “What to Expect When Inspected” concerning the inspection. For enforcement timelines, this will depend on factors such as potential or actual harm, compliance history and intent as eluded to in question 2. See slide #27 for information on regulatory compliance.
No, not all food operators require a licence. In general, if the operator is manufacturing, processing, treating, preserving, grading, packaging and/or labelling a food for export or interprovincial trade, or importing a food, they require a licence. Please see the resources on CFIA page titled “Food Licences” for further guidance on specific situations and whether a licence is required. CFIA does not require vendors to post proof of licence at farmers markets. The licence fee is $250 for 2 years. Licensing resources is available in slide #10.
Please see the resources posted on CFIA’s webpage titled “ Preventive control plan (PCP)” for specifics on these requirements which includes a link to the Preventive Control Plan Interactive tool which will help you determine if and when you need a written PCP. Depending on the commodity, there may be exemptions for small business related to gross annual sales and number of employees, the Timetables found here have a column that summarize the exemptions for each commodity. There is no exemptions relating to farmer’s markets for PCP’s, however the requirements are outcome based to allow flexibility in how you achieve the expected outcomes. List of PCP guidance and resources is also available in slide # 17.
When selling to an individual consumer, such as at retail, traceability would only be one step back. For specific information regarding if and when the traceability requirements apply to your business, refer to the Traceability interactive tool as well as the relevant timetable(s) listed here: Timelines. In addition, the product must originate from a licence holder in order to be eligible for sale across provincial or territorial boundaries, see CFIA web page titled “Food Licences” for more information. Traceability guidance is also available in slide #21.
Relevant timetable(s) listed here: Timelines.
In general, if the operator is manufacturing, processing, treating, preserving, grading, packaging and/or labelling a food for export or interprovincial trade, or importing a food, they require a licence. Please see the resources on CFIA page titled “Food Licences” for further guidance on specific situations and whether a licence is required. Businesses can choose to conduct multiple activities under the same licence or can hold multiple licences for different activities, commodities or facilities. You may refer to CFIA’s Video series: Applying for an SFC licence using single or multiple My CFIA profiles for further guidance.
In general, the introduction did not change the labelling requirements much. Most of the existing requirements from the Consumer Packaging and Labelling requirements and commodity specific regulations were incorporated into the SFCR. The requirements in the Food and Drug Regulations did not change with the introduction of the SFCR. For current guidance on labelling requirements please refer to CFIA’s Industry Labelling Tool.
The CFIA’s webpage has interactive tools to help you determine licencing and traceability requirements. Please see the resources on the following page: Interactive tools and timelines: Find out if and when the new requirements apply to your business. Businesses can contact the local CFIA office for questions or submit questions online using the Ask CFIA service.
All the current labelling requirements can be found on the CFIA’s Industry Labelling Tool on this page there is also a labelling requirements checklist that can be used to assess the compliance of your label(s).
Yes, beverages are considered “food” in both the Food and Drugs Act and Safe Food for Canadians Act. food includes any article manufactured, sold or represented for use as food or drink for human beings, chewing gum, and any ingredient that may be mixed with food for any purpose whatever;