In Depth
Food Safety
What's in our food? Standards for food inspection
Last Updated October 6, 2006
CBC News
Canada's Food and Drug Act demands that food must be fit for consumption and must not:
- Have in it or on it any harmful substance.
- "Consist in whole or in part of any filthy, putrid, disgusting, rotten, decomposed or diseased animal or vegetable substance".
- Be corrupted by other or inferior ingredients.
- Have been prepared, packaged or stored under unsanitary conditions.
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency operates on behalf of the public to ensure that complex sets of quality control guidelines are followed before food ever reaches the table.
Two types of standards exist, those that determine safety and those that distinguish quality (For example: Canada No. 1, Canada No. 2). All foods must be considered safe before shipment and again on arrival.
Each food has a different set of standards that inspectors use to determine what is fit for consumption. Inspectors are charged with evaluating individual packages, pieces of fruit and cuts of meat with more than just a cursory glance. Foods are checked for qualities such as size, shape, texture, colour and cleanliness.
Each type of item has different quality controls. For example, blueberries must be completely free from visible insects and insect larva whereas some types of produce are allowed a "slight" infestation.
Some of the inspection requirements for other foods include:
Live Crab and Lobster
Crab or lobsters are considered defective if:
- There is an odour of decomposition or there is black discolouration.
- The animal appears dead.
- There is any other indication that the sample is tainted, decomposed or unwholesome.
Fish
Extraneous material in canned fish is considered a serious defect. Any observable amount of oil, grease, glue or dirt on the inside surface of can ends or can bodies is considered unacceptable by the CFIA. The sources of the defects usually include:
- Grease or oil dripping from machines.
- Excess material being deposited during manufacture.
- Contamination during storage or handling of empty cans or can ends.
Processed food
Processed foods, such as applesauce and maraschino cherries, are checked for the amount of peel, stamens, stem and pits contained in the jar or can. Product-specific standards, such as the amount of ascorbic acid in apple juice, are also inspected.
Produce
Decay, discolouration and damage are considered defects of fruits and vegetables.
Each type of produce has a different tolerance threshold for defective items. The table below shows standards for some kitchen staples:
- Carrots
No more than 10 per cent of each shipment may show defects and no more than four per cent of the bunch may be decayed. - Field Tomatoes
Ten per cent of a tomato bunch may have defects. Only five per cent of a shipment may have the same type of defect (i.e.: water blisters or wet cracks). - Sweet Corn
One per cent of ears of corn may have some form of decay. - Brussels Sprouts
Sprouts showing more than a slight infestation or more than slight damage from insects are noted for closer inspection.
- Apples
Ten per cent of apples by count may have defects of which not more than two per cent may be decay. Five per cent may be from any one defect. - Pears
Must be free from insects, insect larva, damage and decay. Three per cent of pears overall may have defects. - Grapes
Any defect in the grapes must be noted. Maggots, particularly, require notification of the local health authority. - Strawberries
Each berry must be free from decay (decayed samples are discarded) and each shipment must have had less than two per cent decayed berries.
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External Links
- Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada
- Canadian Food Inspection Agency
- Food Safety Network
- Food and Drug Administration (U.S.)
- U.S. Department of Agriculture
- Codex Ailimentarius Commission
- WHO Food Safety Program
- OurFood.com
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