Government of Canada proposes new rules to strengthen food safety

These proposed regulations represent a major milestone in bringing the Safe Food for Canadians Act into force. Image: Dino Quinzani

OTTAWA -- The Government of Canada has launched a public consultation on new rules to strengthen food safety. The proposed Safe Food for Canadians Regulations would better protect Canadian families by putting a greater emphasis on preventing food safety risks for all foods imported into Canada or sold across provinces. The regulations would also apply to foods prepared for export.

Also read, Government of Canada finalizes changes to the Nutrition Facts table and list of ingredients on packaged foods.

The proposed regulations would require food businesses to have preventive controls in place to identify and manage food safety risks before products are sold to consumers. This would also reduce the time it takes to remove unsafe foods from the marketplace. This public comment period is an opportunity for all Canadians to comment on the proposed regulations.

These proposed regulations represent a major milestone in bringing the Safe Food for Canadians Act into force, which was passed in Parliament in 2012 with support from all political parties.

Quick facts

• The 90-day consultation closes on April 21, 2017.
• The proposal consolidates 14 sets of existing regulations into one.
• The CFIA has consulted stakeholders on this initiative since 2013, including a targeted consultation with small businesses in 2015.
• Information and guidance is available to explain key elements of the proposal and what would be expected of food businesses, including videos, interactive tools, fact sheets, templates and a handbook.

Additional links

• Pre-publication of the proposed regulations in the Canada Gazette, Part I
• Backgrounder: Proposed Safe Food for Canadians Regulations
• Safe Food for Canadians Act
• Video: What Food Businesses Need to Know 
• Video: Importing Food
• Learn more and have your say at inspection.gc.ca/safefood

SOURCE Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA)