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

Marginal note:Interpretation — fresh fruits or vegetables

• 2 (1) For the purposes of any provision of these Regulations that refers to “fresh fruits or vegetables”, other than section 122, any fresh plant or any fresh edible fungus, or any part of such a plant or fungus, that is a food is considered to be a fresh fruit or vegetable.

• Marginal note:Exception — subparagraph 11(2)(c)(i)

  (2) For the purposes of any provision of these Regulations that refers to “fresh fruits or vegetables”, a food described in subparagraph 11(2)(c)(i) is not considered to be a fresh fruit or vegetable.

Marginal note:Definition prepare in Act

3 For the purposes of the definition prepare in section 2 of the Act, the growing and harvesting of any fresh fruits or vegetables are prescribed activities.

Marginal note:Words and expressions in documents incorporated by reference

4 For the purposes of interpreting any document prepared by the Agency that is incorporated by reference into these Regulations, words and expressions that are used but not defined in that document have the same meaning as in these Regulations.

PART 2Trade

Marginal note:Subsection 10(1) of Act

• 5 (1) For the purposes of subsection 10(1) of the Act, any food commodity is a prescribed food commodity that a person is prohibited to send or convey from one province to another — or to import or export — unless the person does so in accordance with these Regulations.

• Marginal note:Subsection 10(2) of Act

  (2) For the purposes of subsection 10(2) of the Act, any food — other than a food referred to in any of paragraphs 11(2)(a) to (c) of these Regulations — is a prescribed food commodity that a person is prohibited to import unless the person is authorized to do so by a licence.

• Marginal note:Subsection 10(3) of Act

  (3) For the purposes of subsection 10(3) of the Act, any food commodity is a prescribed food commodity that a person is prohibited to send or convey from one province to another — or to import or export — unless it meets the requirements of these Regulations.

Marginal note:Section 12 of Act

6 For the purposes of section 12 of the Act, any food commodity is a prescribed food commodity that a person is prohibited to have in their possession for the purpose of sending or conveying from one province to another — or for the purpose of exporting — unless it meets the requirements of these Regulations.

Marginal note:Subsection 13(1) of Act

• 7 (1) For the purposes of subsection 13(1) of the Act, any food commodity is a prescribed food commodity that is to be exported or sent or conveyed from one province to another, and any of the following activities is a prescribed activity that a person is prohibited to conduct in respect of that prescribed food commodity except in accordance with these Regulations:

  • (a) manufacturing, preparing, storing, packaging and labelling; and

  • (b) if the food commodity is an organic product, in addition to the activities set out in paragraph (a), advertising and conveying.

• Marginal note:Subsection 13(2) of Act

  (2) For the purposes of subsection 13(2) of the Act, any food — other than a food referred to in paragraph 11(2)(a) or (b) of these Regulations — and any food animal is a prescribed food commodity that is to be exported or sent or conveyed from one province to another, and any of the following activities is a prescribed activity that a person is prohibited to conduct in respect of that prescribed food commodity unless the person is authorized to conduct that activity by a licence:

  • (a) in the case of a food,

    • (i) manufacturing, processing, treating, preserving, grading, packaging and labelling, other than

      • (A) the packaging and labelling of fresh fruits or vegetables in the field by the person who grows or harvests them if they are to be sent or conveyed from one province to another to be subsequently manufactured, processed, treated, preserved or graded by a licence holder,

      • (B) the packaging and labelling of a food referred to in subparagraph 11(2)(c)(i) if, at the time that the food is exported or is sent or conveyed from one province to another, it is not a consumer prepackaged food and it has a label applied or attached to it, or accompanying it, that bears the expression “For Further Preparation Only” or “pour conditionnement ultérieur seulement”,

      • (C) the grading of a livestock carcass and a poultry carcass, and

      • (D) any such activity conducted by a restaurant or other similar enterprise, where the food is to be sent or conveyed by the restaurant or other similar enterprise to consumers, and

    • (ii) if the food is an edible meat product, in addition to the activities set out in subparagraph (i), storing and handling in its imported condition for the purpose of the exercise of an inspector’s powers under the Act; and

  • (b) in the case of a food animal, slaughtering.

Marginal note:Interprovincial trade, import and export

• 8 (1) Any food that is sent or conveyed from one province to another or that is imported or exported

  • (a) must not be contaminated;

  • (b) must be edible;

  • (c) must not consist in whole or in part of any filthy, putrid, disgusting, rotten, decomposed or diseased animal or vegetable substance; and

  • (d) must have been manufactured, prepared, stored, packaged and labelled under sanitary conditions.

• Marginal note:Prohibition — mixing of contaminated food

  (2) It is prohibited for a person to mix a contaminated food with other food so that it meets the requirements of subsection (1), unless the person is authorized to do so by the Minister under subsection (3).

• Marginal note:Ministerial authorization

  (3) The Minister may authorize a person to mix a contaminated food with other food if the Minister is of the opinion that no risk of injury to human health will result.

Marginal note:Compliance with standard

• 9 (1) Any food that is sent or conveyed from one province to another or that is imported or exported and for which a standard is set out in the Standards of Identity Document must comply with that standard.

• Marginal note:Food likely to be mistaken

  (2) Any food that is sent or conveyed from one province to another or that is imported or exported and that is likely to be mistaken for a food for which a standard is set out in the Standards of Identity Document must comply with that standard.

Marginal note:Use of food additives and other substances

10 Any person who manufactures, processes, treats or preserves a food that has been imported or that is to be exported or sent or conveyed from one province to another may use, in or on the food, a food additive or other substance unless the use of that food additive or other substance is not permitted by these Regulations or under the Food and Drugs Act or the use does not comply with any limits or levels provided by these Regulations or under that Act.

Marginal note:Import

• 11 (1) Any food that is imported must have been manufactured, prepared, stored, packaged and labelled in a manner and under conditions that provide at least the same level of protection as that provided by sections 47 to 81.

• Marginal note:Exception

  (2) Subsection (1) does not apply in respect of

  • (a) a food additive;

  • (b) a beverage that contains more than 0.5% absolute ethyl alcohol by volume; or

  • (c) a food that is set out in Schedule 1 and that

    • (i) is unprocessed and is intended to be manufactured, processed or treated for use as a grain, oil, pulse, sugar or beverage,

    • (ii) has a label applied or attached to it, or accompanying it, that bears the expression “For Further Preparation Only” or “pour conditionnement ultérieur seulement”, and

    • (iii) is not a consumer prepackaged food.

Marginal note:Import — fixed place of business

• 12 (1) Any person who imports a food, other than a food referred to in any of paragraphs 11(2)(a) to (c), and who does not have, in Canada, a fixed place of business from which they carry on business related to the food must,

  • (a) have a fixed place of business from which they carry on business related to the food in a foreign state that

    • (i) has an inspection system that has been recognized under Part 7, if the imported food is a meat product or live or raw shellfish, or

    • (ii) has a food safety system that has been determined by the Minister under subsection (2) to provide at least the same level of protection in relation to that food as that provided by the provisions of the Act and these Regulations, if the imported food is not a meat product or live or raw shellfish; and

  • (b) send or convey the food directly to Canada from a foreign state that has an inspection system described in subparagraph (a)(i) or a food safety system described in subparagraph (a)(ii).

• Marginal note:Food safety system — Minister’s determination

  (2) The Minister must determine whether a foreign state’s food safety system provides at least the same level of protection in relation to an imported food as that provided by the provisions of the Act and these Regulations by taking into account the following:

  • (a) any applicable legislative framework, controls and procedures;

  • (b) the organizational structure of the authority that is responsible for the system;

  • (c) the implementation of the system;

  • (d) the resources that support the objectives of the system; and

  • (e) any other relevant information.

• Marginal note:Exception — certain shellfish

  (3) For the purposes of paragraph (1)(a), the reference to “shellfish” does not include the adductor muscles of scallops or the meat of geoducks.

• Marginal note:In transit

  (4) For the purposes of paragraph (1)(b), if the food passes only in transit through a foreign state, the person is not considered to have sent or conveyed the food directly to Canada from that foreign state.

Marginal note:Import information

• 13 (1) Any person who imports a food must provide to the Minister, in a form approved by the President, the following information:

  • (a) their name and address and, if they hold a licence to import, the number of that licence;

  • (b) the name and address of the person from whom the food is received;

  • (c) the name of the foreign state of origin;

  • (d) the address of the first destination of the food in Canada;

  • (e) a description of the food, including its common name and quantity;

  • (f) any information relating to the safety of the food that the Minister believes is required in order to respond to a risk of injury to human health; and

  • (g) in the case of live or raw shellfish other than the adductor muscles of scallops or the meat of geoducks, with respect to the establishment at which the shellfish was last manufactured, prepared, stored, packaged or labelled prior to its importation, the establishment’s registration number, or another identification number for the establishment, that is provided by the foreign state.

• Marginal note:Provision of import information

  (2) The information referred to in subsection (1), and any documents required by sections 96 and 104 and paragraph 167(d), must be provided before or at the time of the import.

• Marginal note:Exception

  (3) Despite subsection (2), in the case of a food other than a meat product, the Minister may authorize the person who imports the food, at their written request, to provide the information after the time of import, at the time specified by the Minister.

• Marginal note:Meat products

  (4) For the purposes of subsection (3), the foods set out in paragraphs 25(a) and (b) are not considered to be meat products.

Marginal note:Import — further inspection

• 14 (1) If, during an inspection that is conducted at the time of the import, the inspector determines that a further inspection is required,

  • (a) in the case of an edible meat product,

    • (i) the meat product must be immediately delivered, by the licence holder who imports it, to an establishment where it must be stored and handled in its imported condition by a licence holder and must be kept in that establishment until the further inspection is completed, and

    • (ii) the licence holder who imports the meat product must provide the address of the establishment referred to in subparagraph (i) to the inspector if it is different from the address referred to in paragraph 13(1)(d); and

  • (b) in the case of a food other than an edible meat product, the food must be kept, by the person who imports it, at the address referred to in paragraph 13(1)(d) until the further inspection is completed.

• Marginal note:Meat products

  (2) For the purposes of subsection (1), the foods set out in paragraphs 25(a) and (b) are not considered to be meat products.