Safe Food for Canadians Regulations (SOR/2018-108)

Marginal note:Application for recognition of system

• 171 (1) If a foreign state’s inspection system for meat products is recognized, the foreign state may make an application to the Minister in writing for the recognition of the system of manufacturing, processing, treating, preserving, handling, testing, grading, coding, slaughtering, storing, packaging or labelling that is used in an establishment and that is subject to that inspection system.

• Marginal note:Contents of application

  (2) The application must include the following information:

  • (a) the name of the person who conducts any relevant activities and the establishment’s address;

  • (b) the establishment’s registration number, or another identification number for the establishment, that is provided by the foreign state;

  • (c) a statement that identifies the system in respect of which the application is made;

  • (d) a declaration by the authorized representative of the foreign state who makes the application that states that the system in respect of which the application is made is subject to the foreign state’s recognized inspection system and meets the requirements of that inspection system that apply to the conduct of those activities in respect of meat products that are intended to be exported to Canada; and

  • (e) the name, title and signature of the authorized representative of the foreign state who makes the application.

• Marginal note:Recognition by Minister

  (3) The Minister must recognize a system of manufacturing, processing, treating, preserving, handling, testing, grading, coding, slaughtering, storing, packaging or labelling in respect of which an application is made if

  • (a) the foreign state’s inspection system for the relevant meat products is recognized under subsection 170(3); and

  • (b) the system of manufacturing, processing, treating, preserving, handling, testing, grading, coding, slaughtering, storing, packaging or labelling is subject to the inspection system referred to in paragraph (a) and meets the requirements of that inspection system that apply to those activities in respect of meat products that are intended to be exported to Canada.

Marginal note:Suspension of recognition — inspection system

• 172 (1) The Minister must suspend the recognition of a foreign state’s inspection system that is referred to in section 170 if

  • (a) the foreign state fails to notify the Minister in writing, as soon as feasible, of any changes that it has made to the system or to the legislation governing the system; or

  • (b) the system no longer provides at least the same level of protection as that provided by the provisions of the Act and these Regulations.

• Marginal note:Suspension of recognition — system used in establishment

  (2) The Minister must suspend the recognition of a system of manufacturing, processing, treating, preserving, handling, testing, grading, coding, slaughtering, storing, packaging or labelling that is referred to in section 171 if

  • (a) the system no longer meets the foreign state’s requirements that apply to those activities;

  • (b) a shipment of meat products that have been manufactured, processed, treated, preserved, handled, tested, graded, coded, stored, packaged or labelled using the system is determined to contravene a provision of the Act, these Regulations, the Food and Drugs Act or the Food and Drug Regulations, and

    • (i) during the six-month period immediately prior to that shipment, there have been two other shipments of meat products that have been manufactured, processed, treated, preserved, handled, tested, graded, coded, stored, packaged or labelled using the system in respect of which such a determination of non-compliance has been made, or

    • (ii) among the four most recent shipments, prior to that shipment, of meat products that have been manufactured, processed, treated, preserved, handled, tested, graded, coded, stored, packaged or labelled using the system, two shipments have been determined to be non-compliant;

  • (c) the system is no longer subject to the foreign state’s inspection system; or

  • (d) the recognition of the foreign state’s inspection system to which the system is subject has been suspended.

• Marginal note:Notice

  (3) The Minister must notify the foreign state in writing of the suspension under subsection (1) or (2), the grounds for the suspension and the date on which it takes effect.

• Marginal note:Effective date

  (4) The suspension takes effect on the day on which the notice is issued.

• Marginal note:Reinstatement of recognition

  (5) The Minister must notify the foreign state in writing that the recognition is no longer suspended if

  • (a) in the case of a suspension under subsection (1) or under paragraph (2)(a), (c) or (d), the circumstances that gave rise to a suspension have been remedied; or

  • (b) in the case of a suspension under paragraph (2)(b), the establishment has taken corrective action.

Marginal note:Cancellation of recognition — inspection system

• 173 (1) The Minister must cancel the recognition of a foreign state’s inspection system referred to in section 170 if

  • (a) no meat products or live or raw shellfish to which the system applies have been exported to Canada from the foreign state in the previous five years;

  • (b) the circumstances that gave rise to a suspension have not been remedied within 12 months after the day on which the recognition was suspended; or

  • (c) the foreign state requests the cancellation in writing.

• Marginal note:Cancellation of recognition — system used in establishment

  (2) The Minister must cancel the recognition of a system of manufacturing, processing, treating, preserving, handling, testing, grading, coding, slaughtering, storing, packaging or labelling referred to in section 171 if

  • (a) the recognition of the inspection system to which it is subject has been cancelled;

  • (b) no meat products that were manufactured, processed, treated, preserved, handled, tested, graded, coded, stored, packaged or labelled using the system have been exported to Canada from the foreign state in the previous five years;

  • (c) circumstances that gave rise to a suspension have not been remedied within 12 months after the day on which the recognition was suspended; or

  • (d) the foreign state in which the establishment is located requests the cancellation in writing.

• Marginal note:Notice

  (3) The Minister must notify the foreign state in writing of the cancellation under subsection (1) or (2), the grounds for the cancellation and the date on which it takes effect.

• Marginal note:Effective date

  (4) The cancellation takes effect on the day on which the notice is issued.

PART 8Ministerial Exemptions

Marginal note:Definition of test market food

173.1 For the purposes of section 174, test market food means a food that,

• (a) prior to being subject to an exemption referred to in subsection 174(1), was not sold in Canada in its current form; and

• (b) differs substantially from any other food sold in Canada with respect to its composition, function, condition or packaging form.

Marginal note:Application for exemption — test market food or shortage in supply

• 174 (1) Any person may apply, in a form approved by the President, for an exemption from the application of a provision of the Act or these Regulations for the purpose of selling a test market food or for alleviating a shortage in Canada in the available supply of a food that is manufactured, processed or produced in Canada.

• Marginal note:Exemption

  (2) The Minister may, in writing, grant the exemption if

  • (a) the information submitted in the application for the exemption is complete, truthful and not misleading;

  • (b) the food in respect of which the application for the exemption is made meets the requirements that are set out in paragraphs 8(1)(a) to (d);

  • (c) the Minister is of the opinion that no risk of injury to human health will result;

  • (d) in the case of an application for an exemption for the purpose of selling a test market food, the Minister is of the opinion that the exemption will not

    • (i) confuse or mislead the public, or

    • (ii) disrupt the normal trading patterns of the industry or the normal food pricing patterns; and

  • (e) in the case of an application for an exemption for the purpose of alleviating a shortage in Canada in the available supply of a food that is manufactured, processed or produced in Canada, the exemption is necessary to alleviate that shortage.

Marginal note:Application for exemption — inspection legend

• 175 (1) The holder of a licence to slaughter food animals and to process meat products may apply, in a form approved by the President, for an exemption from the application of section 151 in respect of a carcass or carcass side.

• Marginal note:Exemption

  (2) The Minister may, in writing, grant the exemption if

  • (a) the information submitted in the application for the exemption is complete, truthful and not misleading;

  • (b) the licence holder has established procedures

    • (i) for processing the carcass or carcass side within the establishment where the food animal was slaughtered, and

    • (ii) for identifying the carcass or carcass side to allow it to be linked with any edible meat products derived from it and for the keeping of documents to allow for this linkage;

  • (c) the Minister is of the opinion that no risk of injury to human health will result; and

  • (d) the Minister is of the opinion that no risk of harm to interprovincial trade or export will result.

• Marginal note:Conditions

  (3) The exemption granted under subsection (2) is subject to the following conditions:

  • (a) the carcass or carcass side must be processed within the establishment where the food animal was slaughtered; and

  • (b) the carcass or carcass side must be identified to allow it to be linked with any edible meat products derived from it and documents must be kept to allow for this linkage.

Marginal note:Additional conditions

176 The Minister may, at any time, make any exemption referred to in subsection 174(2) or 175(2) subject to conditions.

Marginal note:Period of validity

177 An exemption referred to in subsection 174(2) or 175(2) is valid until the expiry date that is specified in the exemption or, if no date is specified, until the end of the period that is two years after the day on which the exemption is granted.

Marginal note:Cancellation

178 The Minister may cancel an exemption if

• (a) the Minister is of the opinion that to not cancel the exemption may result in a risk of injury to human health;

• (b) in the case of an exemption referred to in subsection 175(2), the Minister is of the opinion that to not cancel the exemption may result in a risk of harm to interprovincial trade or export; or

• (c) the person who has been granted the exemption does not comply with any condition to which the exemption is subject or any provision of the Act or these Regulations other than a provision in respect of which the exemption is granted.

PART 9Inspection Legends

Marginal note:Definition of inspection mark in Act

179 The inspection legends that are set out in Figures 1 and 2 of Schedule 2 are prescribed for the purposes of the definition inspection mark in section 2 of the Act.

Marginal note:Edible meat products — Figure 1 of Schedule 2

• 180 (1) A licence holder or an inspector is authorized to apply the inspection legend that is set out in Figure 1 of Schedule 2 to, and use it in connection with, an edible meat product, whether prepackaged or not, if the following conditions are met:

  • (a) the meat product was manufactured, processed, treated, preserved, packaged or labelled by the licence holder in accordance with the provisions of the Act and these Regulations;

  • (b) in the case where any meat product that it contains was manufactured, processed, treated, preserved, packaged or labelled in Canada, that activity was conducted by a licence holder in accordance with the provisions of the Act and these Regulations;

  • (c) in the case where the meat product is a livestock carcass or poultry carcass that was graded in Canada, or is derived from such a carcass, that activity was conducted by a grader in accordance with these Regulations;

  • (d) in the case where any meat product that it contains was imported, it was imported by a licence holder in accordance with the provisions of the Act and these Regulations;

  • (e) in the case where the meat product, or any meat product that it contains, is derived from food animals that were slaughtered in Canada, the food animals were slaughtered by a licence holder in accordance with the provisions of the Act and these Regulations;

  • (f) the meat product complies with the standards that are set out in Volume 7 of the Standards of Identity Document and meets the requirements that are set out in paragraphs 8(1)(a) to (d) and in Division 7 of Part 6; and

  • (g) the inspection legend is applied or used in an establishment that is identified in the licence holder’s licence, unless the meat product is intended to be exported and the inspection legend is applied to the conveyance or used in connection with the conveyance in which the meat product is exported.

• Marginal note:Edible meat products — Figure 2 of Schedule 2

  (2) A licence holder or an inspector is authorized to apply the inspection legend that is set out in Figure 2 of Schedule 2 to, and use it in connection with, an edible prepackaged meat product if the conditions set out in subsection (1) are met and the container of the meat product

  • (a) is a hermetically sealed package that is labelled in a legible and permanent manner so as to make it possible to identify the establishment that is identified in the licence holder’s licence;

  • (b) is a casing or bag that is closed by a clip, if the number identifying the licence holder’s establishment is legibly engraved on the clip and is visible when the clip is closed; or

  • (c) bears the number identifying the licence holder’s establishment on the label except if it is shown on any part of the label that is applied or attached to the bottom of the container.

• Marginal note:Exception — export under section 16

  (3) In the case of the export of a meat product under subsection 16(1), the requirements of subsections (1) and (2) must be met except any requirement that is set out in paragraph (1)(f) in the case where it is the unmet requirement referred to in subsection 16(1).

• Marginal note:Exception — dressed beef carcass side

  (4) Despite paragraph (1)(f), a licence holder is authorized to apply, after the post-mortem inspection or examination and before refrigeration, in the manner set out in paragraph 151(a) or (b), the inspection legend set out in Figure 1 of Schedule 2 to a dressed beef carcass side containing dorsal root ganglia if the carcass side has been clearly marked to identify it as containing dorsal root ganglia. The dorsal root ganglia must be removed from the carcass side before any meat product derived from it is identified as edible.