Last week we had the pleasure of sitting in on a webinar hosted by Livingston International regarding the next phase of the Safe Food for Canadians Regulations, and it made us think that perhaps it’s time to revisit this topic.
Some background: the Safe Food for Canadians Regulations (SFCR) are a consolidated set of regulations that not only help protect Canada’s food supply, but also ensure the country’s own rules are consistent with those of its trading partners. The SFCR contains three key elements: licensing, preventive controls, and traceability. (You can find our previous posts about the SFCR here, here, and here.)
The SFCR came into force on January 15, 2019, and was to be phased in over the following 12-30 months. The early 2019 implementation date covered companies managing food items such as meat, fish, eggs/processed egg, dairy, processed fruit, or fresh fruits and vegetables.
The fresh fruits and vegetables sector were required to be licensed in January, 2019; as of January 2020, all fresh fruit and vegetable providers must adhere to the SFCR’s preventive controls and plans, as well as lot codes and labelling.
The next implementation date that covers all other foods is July 15, 2020.
We’re going to post again with a link to this Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) page about the SFCR. Because here you’ll find:
- A toolkit for businesses,
- A link to licensing,
- Another link to webinars about the SFCR, and
- Labeling and regulatory compliance.
And finally, be sure to sign up for a MyCFIA account, where you can track licensing requests, view certificates, and conduct business with the CFIA.
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