No licence needed by exporters of agri-food products to Canada!
Spanish, to guests and participants from our IICA member countries
Ottawa, ON - Reassurance that licensing requirements were not applicable to exporters of agri-food products to Canada was welcomed by countries throughout Latin America and the Caribbean that participated in an information session recently. Daniel Burgoyne of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) was the special guest presenter at the forum hosted by the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) Office in Canada. Targeting countries that were already exporting to Canada or with an interest to export, key elements of the Canadian Safe Foods for Canadians Regulations, that came into force on January 15, 2019, were explained to over 100 participants. The new regulations consolidates 14 previous regulations into one, with an emphasis on prevention and allowing for faster removal of unsafe food from the marketplace. Participants heard that the requirements equally applied to Canadian businesses with inter Provincial trade. Highlighting the importance of traceability, there was also relief that Preventive Control Plans were not mandatory for very small operations. Timelines as well as useful information tools, web links and videos were shared for facilitating compliance with the requirements of the new regulations.
Practical, informative and enlightening, the presentation underscored the differences between the US Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) and the SCFR during what was a very engaging Q & A session. The Representative of IICA in Canada, Dr. Audia Barnett, expressed pleasure at the diverse group in attendance online at IICA offices throughout the region. Regulators, producers, exporters, and even some manufacturers took time to participate from their processing plants. Members of the Diplomatic Corps in Canada representing Mexico, Costa Rica, Paraguay, Barbados, Colombia, Bolivia, Guatemala, the Dominican Republic and Jamaica also benefitted from insights on the implications for their respective countries regarding trade activities. www.inspection.gc.ca/safefood
FULL VIDEO presentations:
English: https://youtu.be/UvEvftMhiOo
Spanish: https://youtu.be/3J8mbtV4Zdo
For further information, please contact:
Dr. Audia Barnett
audia.barnett@iica.int