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.
