CFIA says regulatory changes will cut agricultural red tape

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Published: 2 hours ago

white broiler chickens in the farm yard

Glacier FarmMedia – The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) is set to make seven regulatory changes to cut red tape around agricultural production.

“This package of regulatory changes is about building a regulatory environment that reflects and responds to the realities of today’s agriculture sector,” said federal Agriculture Minister Heath MacDonald in a Wednesday press release.

The changes to the Health of Animals Regulations and the Safe Food for Canadians Regulations fall into three categories: removing overly prescriptive requirements; increasing flexibility and speed; and levelling the playing field for the Canadian agriculture and agri-food sector.

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Industries of greatest impact are fruit and vegetable, and livestock — mainly poultry and veal.

For fruit and vegetable producers, the changes include:

  • Fresh fruit and vegetables will no longer require prescriptive label.
  • Produce intended for further processing, manufacturing, or preserving is exempt from mandatory grading requirements.
  • Fresh fruits and vegetables grade standards will be managed by the Fruit and Vegetable Dispute Resolution Corporation to more effectively meet industry needs.

Changes for the poultry industry include:

  • Reduction of traceability labelling requirements for hatching eggs and chicks to align with current industry practices.
  • Required testing for Salmonella Enteritidis on hatching eggs imported from the United States to licensed Canadian hatcheries.

Changes to livestock regulation are:

  • Increased efficiency and ease in updating animal import rules to align with international standards or new science.
  • Updated import requirements for veal to give more flexibility.

About the author

Janelle Rudolph

Janelle Rudolph

Reporter

Janelle Rudolph is a Glacier FarmMedia Reporter based in Rosthern, Sask. Janelle Rudolph's love of writing and information, and curiosity in worldly goings-ons is what led her to pursue her Bachelor of Communication and Digital Journalism from Thompson Rivers University, which she earned in 2024. After graduating, she immediately dove headfirst into her journalism career with Glacier FarmMedia. She grew up on a small cattle farm near Rosthern, Sask. which has influenced her reporting interests of livestock, local ag, and agriculture policy. In Janelle’s free time she can be found reading with a coffee in hand, wandering thrift and antique stores or spending time with friends and family.

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