Big Changes Around the Corner for All Foods in Canada
The most significant change in the history of Canadian Food and Drug Regulations is about to take effect. The Safe Food for Canadians Act was passed in November 2012, but the regulations and guidance documents are expected to be published in Canada Gazette I as early as January 2015.
In order to ensure a stronger Food Safety System, CFIA will now require both importers and manufacturers of all foods in Canada to obtain a license and establish baseline food safety requirements that reflect CODEX. Written Preventative Control Plans (PCPs) will be required covering safety, labelling and trade requirements and active management of food risks. These plans will be inspected by CFIA before a license will be issued, and the importer or manufacturer will need to demonstrate that their food safety program has been properly implemented and documented. This will not be a onetime event. The preventative control program is expected to demonstrate that procedures are in place to ensure ongoing monitoring. Importers and manufacturers are expected to identify a “Responsible Person” in the organization that has been appropriately trained in addition to the person who conducts the monitoring. This ensures that the organization is accountable at the highest level. Traceability procedures are also expected to be in place in the event that a food recall is initiated.
dicentra is now able to support your company’s entire license application process and not only review your internal procedures, but also ensure that your verification steps, record keeping documentation will meet the new regulation requirements. We can assist you in establishing your Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) to support your preventative control plan which will include procedures for determining root cause of any deviation to prevent recurrences and ultimately avoid recall situations. CFIA conducts over 300 food recalls per year and dicentra wants to ensure that you are adequately prepared with Traceability Procedures in the place to avoid this occurrence.
To address this oncoming industry need dicentra is pleased to announce the addition of Nancy Grove to our team. Nancy is a food safety and quality expert with 20 years of experience in the food ingredient and beverage manufacturing industries. To learn more about Nancy please click here.
We are also introducing quarterly regulatory updates this year beginning in February to help industry stay up to speed on all of these important developments, as well as any regulatory matters pertaining to health products, supplements, cosmetics and drugs in both Canada and the United States. To learn more please visit www.regulatoryupdates.com. Feel free to call us directly at 1-866-647-3279.
