Canadian Food Inspection Agency

TheCanadian Food Inspection Agency(CFIA;French:Agence canadienne d'inspection des aliments (ACIA)) is aregulatory agencythat is dedicated to the safeguarding of food, plants, and animals (FPA) in Canada, thus enhancing the health and well-being of Canada's people, environment and economy. The agency is responsible to theMinister of Health.
The agency was created in April 1997 by theCanadian Food Inspection Agency Actfor the purpose of consolidating the delivery of all federalfood safety,animal health, andplant healthregulatory programs in Canada. As such, the CFIA was established by combining and integrating the related inspection services of three separatefederal government departments:
The agency is part of the largerfederal public service. According to the CFIA statement of values, science is the basis for regulatory decisions, though the need to consider other factors is recognized.Through the enforcement of various acts and regulations,the CFIA works to protect Canadians from preventable health risks and provide a fair and effective food, animal and plant regulatory regime that supports competitive domestic and international markets. A CFIA technocrat is appointed to be Canada's delegate on theFAOcommittee that drafts theCodex Alimentarius,which is a vital component of theWTOframework.
The CFIA is also responsible for monitoring pesticide residues in food. Health Canada establishesMaximum Residue Limits(MRLs) for pesticide residues in all foods.MRLs are supposedly set for each pesticide-crop combination.
TheMinister of Healthis responsible for:
The CFIA has had many Presidents over its lifetime:
TheChief Veterinary Officer(CVO) of Canada,Dr. Mary-Jane Ireland, resides in the CFIA hierarchy. As a delegate to the OIE, the CVO commits the nation to observe the standards created by the international body, which standards in turn serve theWTO.
The Chief Food Safety Officer for Canada resides in the CFIA hierarchy, and plays a key leadership and advisory role for managing food safety incidents and for the development of policies, regulations and programs aimed at preventing and responding to food safety risks. Most recently,Isabelle Labergewas appointed to the role.
The Chief Plant Health Officer for Canada also resides in the CFIA hierarchy. The occupant of this position sits on theNorth American Plant Protection Organizationand theInternational Plant Protection Convention, the latter of which informs theWTO'sAgreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures.Dr. Anthony Anyiais appointed to this post.
The Chief Science Operating Officer, currentlyDr. Primal Silva, is responsible for the CFIA's 13 laboratories (one of which is Canada's contribution to theBSL4ZNet:National Centre for Foreign Animal Disease) and sits on the Scientific Advisory Board of theOrganisation for Economic Cooperation and Developmentas well as theGlobal Coalition of Regulatory Science Research.
One of the main acts and regulations that CFIA uses is theFood and Drugs Act.There have been ongoing regulatory amendments brought forward with the most recent attempt at modernizing theFood and Drugs Actwas the introduction ofBill C-51.
Other Acts and Regulations also specify inspection requirements and for certain trade requirements, the need to register with CFIA to conduct business. Such companies are termed "registered establishments" as opposed to those "non-federally registered establishments" that fall solely under theFood and Drugs Act. While theFood and Drugs Actprovide for core food safety standards, many companies opt to use third-party standards such asHACCPorISO 22000(which in any case incorporates HACCP) in order to meet client specified standards. Due to the race to globalize and the push to standardize it is no wonder that theGlobal Food Safety Initiativehas been endorsed by the CFIA. All of these standards are closely observed by the food industry due to the potential loss of business. Here, the reader is encouraged to review the CFIA white paperPrivate Certification Policy (Food Safety),which at some point between 2014 and 2020 replaced theGuide to Food Safety.
TheFood and Drugs Actdoes not have any requirements for domestic manufacturers to notify the agency of their existence but companies generally require provincial registrations or municipal licenses to operate. Provincial authorities and local public health units carry out inspections and work with the CFIA to manage food safety risks.
There is no requirement in theFood and Drugs Actfor importers to directly notify the CFIA of their existence. Import notification is required for other commodities such as fish and meat. All commercial importers must have an import/export account withCanada Border Services Agency(CBSA) who refers food, animal and plant imports to the CFIA as required. Through variousphytosanitaryrequirements, CBSA import controls often cause the CFIA to take notice.
TheFood and Drugs Actdoes not provide the power torecall food productsand all recalls are done on a voluntary basis. However, Section 19 of theCanadian Food Inspection Agency Actprovides authority for the Minister of Agriculture to order a recall, where there are reasonable grounds that the product poses a risk to public, animal or plant health.CFIA rates their recalls in three classifications (see below). Public notification of Class I and sometimes class II recalls are done by the CFIA. Lower risk recalls are listed in a published database on the CFIA web site. Recall classifications are conducted by the Office of Food Safety and Recall based on risk advice from Health Canada.
The CFIA Food Inspector Corps. is unionized by theAgriculture Union, which in turn is an affiliate ofPSAC.
On 11 May 2020, theembedded inspectorsat slaughterhouses (as represented by the AU) said that CFIA management is "threatening disciplinary action against employees who refuse to be reassigned to work at COVID-19-infected meat plants", while the intrepid journalist was keen to note that Deputy PMChrystia Freelandhad previously said that "those who feel unsafe won't be forced back to work."
The CFIA houses 13 practical research facilities, among which are at least threecontainment laboratories, Fallowfield, Lethbridge,and the Winnipeg NCFAD:
In July 2008, CFIA biologist Luc Pomerleau was fired for disloyalty to the government, because he transmitted to his union a sensitiveTreasury Boardminutes document, in which PresidentVic Toewsand ministers approved the cuts proposed by the Minister of HealthTony Clementthat were to affect the inspection of animal feed mills, the certification of commercial seed, eliminate mandatory label registration of meat and processed products, the Avian Influenza Preparedness Program, and also called for the consolidation of three "import service centres" into one central facility. Pomerleau is no longer able to work for the government because he was deemed "unreliable" and fired for "gross misconduct".
According to the findings of the Independent Investigator that was appointed by the government following the 2008 Listeriosis outbreak, there were 75 confirmed cases oflisteriosisand was also the underlying or contributing cause of death for 22 of these individuals. Although most cases were in Ontario, illnesses occurred in seven provinces. The report identified response actions that worked well at the federal and provincial levels and gaps in the system should be corrected.Canadian researcherSylvain Charleboispublished a separate report suggesting that the listeria outbreak forces the agency to accept that food recalls are no longer mainly externally oriented; they are systemic in nature.
In October 2012, Canadian Food Inspection Agency scientist Dr. Klaus Nielsen was arrested, with 17 vials of brucella bacteria, headed to Ottawa airport, en route to China. Nielsen pleaded guilty and was sentenced to two years' imprisonment. Wei Ling Yu, a fellow scientist, and Chinese national, fled from Canada. Both were fired from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.
In April 2017, it was reported that nearly a third offood samplesin CFIA testing containglyphosateresidues. Glyphosate residues were detected in 29.7% of all food samples, with 1.3% containing residue levels above MRLs. For the grain products tested, 3.9% had residue levels about MRLs. The research focused on: