Food > Fresh Fruits and Vegetables 

Import Policy for American Fresh Spinach and Salad Blends Containing Fresh Spinach from Monterey and San Benito Counties

Related Alerts: 2006-09-15 | 2006-09-15 | 2006-09-18
2006-10-30 - Canada eases border restrictions on fresh spinach from the United States

Introduction

Late on September 14, the CFIA was notified that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) was issuing a warning to consumers regarding an outbreak of E. Coli O157:H7 associated with spinach.

CFIA officials immediately requested more information and initiated a review of U.S. imports, but was unable to take recall action as the potentially affected product had not been specifically identified. However, on Friday, September 15, as a public health precaution, the CFIA issued a general advisory warning Canadians to not consume fresh spinach imported from the U.S., including bagged, loose in bulk or in salad blends.

The Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) reports that there was one illnesses in Canada directly linked to this outbreak. However, since spinach from the U.S. is regularly imported into Canada, this Import Alert has been implemented to refuse entry of all fresh spinach and salad blends containing fresh spinach from two counties in California; Monterey and San Benito.

An Origin Verification Program has been established where import documentation of all USA fresh spinach and products (salad blends) containing spinach will require an attestation to the origin by State, and when from California, the attestation that the product did not come from the either of the two implicated counties. The origin of product will be required to be declared in Box 22 of the Confirmation of Sale form (CFIA/ACIA 3885), such as “Spinach Grown in (Name of State other than Calfornia)” and when from California the declaration in Box 22 must state “Spinach Grown in California, outside of Monterey or San Benito counties”.

Consumption of food contaminated with this E. Coli O157:H7 bacteria may cause serious and potentially life-threatening illnesses. Symptoms include severe abdominal pain and bloody diarrhea. Some people may have seizures or strokes and some may need blood transfusions and kidney dialysis. Although everyone is susceptible to E. Coli infection, people with compromised immune systems, young children and the elderly are most at risk for developing serious complications.

Scope of this Import Policy

The following Import Policy is applicable to all shipments of fresh spinach and salad blends (e.g. salad pre-mix, spring mix) from the United States. Fresh spinach includes: spinach in bag, loose in bulk and in salad blends.

Legislative Authority

Section 3.1 (1) of the Fresh Fruit and Vegetables Regulations and Section 4 of the Food and Drugs Act.

Section 3.1 (1) of the Fresh Fruit and Vegetables Regulations states:

Subject to subsection (2), no person shall market in import, export or interprovincial trade as food unless it:

(a)	is not adulterated;
(b)	is not contaminated;
(c)	is edible;
(d)	is free of any live insect, scorpion, snake, spider or other living thing that may be injurious to health;
(e)	is prepared in a sanitary manner;
(f)	where irradiated, is irradiated in accordance with Division 26 of Part B of the Food and Drug Regulations;
(g)	meets all other requirements of the Food and Drugs Act and Food and Drug Regulations with respect to the produce.

Section 4 of the Food and Drugs Act states:

No person shall sell an article of food that

(a)	has in or on it any poisonous or harmful substance;
(b)	is unfit for human consumption;
(c)	consists in whole or in part of any filthy, putrid, disgusting, rotten, decomposed or diseased animal or vegetable substance;
(d)	is adulterated; or
(e)	was manufactured, prepared, preserved, packaged or stored under unsanitary conditions.

Import Policy

Due to the high number of confirmed cases and death associated with this outbreak, the number of States affected and the source of the contamination which has not yet been determined by USFDA, the CFIA is restricting the entry into Canada of all Californian fresh spinach and salad blends containing fresh spinach from the counties of Monterey and San Benito, until further notice.

This action is taken as a precautionary approach. This policy may be modified as more information is received from the U.S.

Enforcement of the Import Requirements

The following enforcement policy applies to all shipments of fresh spinach or salad blends (e.g. salad pre-mix, spring mix) from the USA.

• CFIA will maintain an Import Alert on all shipments of fresh spinach and salad blends (e.g. salad pre-mix, spring mix) from the USA.
• The Import Alert requests the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) to advise the CFIA Import Service Centre (ISC) that a shipment of American spinach or salad blends is at the border. The ISC is then to obtain a copy of the Confirmation of Sale (COS) and Custom invoices from CBSA.
• The ISC will review the documentation specifically for the declaration made under Box 22 of the COS form.
  
  

  A.)		Salad Blends
  		For every entry of Salad Blend, Box 22 of the COS must have a declaration whether the product contains spinach. If no declaration, ISC will advise CBSA to “Refuse Entry”.
  	Examples:	“Salad Blend contains spinach” “Salad Blend does not contain spinach”
  B.)		Spinach or Salad Blends containing Spinach
  		For every entry of Spinach or Salad Blend containing Spinach, Box 22 of the COS must have a declaration of the origin where the spinach was grown. Spinach grown in the San Benito and Monterey counties is not allowed into Canada, therefore, ISC will advise CBSA to “Refuse Entry”. In addition, if there are no origin declaration of the product, ISC will advise CBSA to “Refuse Entry”
  	Examples:	“Spinach Grown in (Name of State-other than California)” “Spinach Grown in California, outside of the Monterey and San Benito counties”
  NB for salad blend: a combination of the above two declaration would also be acceptable.
  	Examples:	“Salad blend contains spinach and spinach was grown in “ ”Salad blend contains spinach and spinach was grown in California but outside of Monterey and San Benito counties”

  
  

• If the COS form has an acceptable declaration in Box 22, ISC is to advise CBSA to “Release” the shipment.
• If the COS form does not have an acceptable declaration in Box 22 for every entry of Spinach or Salad Blend, the ISC will advise CBSA to “Refuse Entry”
• For shipments containing Spinach or Salad Blends with Spinach, ISC will Fax COS form to: CFIA Head Quarters:
  Attention Isabelle Laberge; Fax: (613) 221-7294.
• The CFIA's destination office will monitor shipments of Salad Blends to determine if they contain fresh spinach.
• If the product label indicates that there is presence of fresh spinach in the salad blend or spinach is visible, the CFIA's destination office should take necessary enforcement actions to remove this product from Canada or to dispose of it.
• For shipments declaring “Salad Blend does not contains Spinach” ISC will fax COS form to CFIA destination office.
• Same process should be followed for off hours and weekends.

Amendment Record

October 30, 2006

Distribution

• Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) Area Network Specialists
• CFIA field staffs, including CFIA Import Service Center
• Health Canada (HC), Bureau of Microbial Hazards
• Canadian Produce Marketing Association

Contact

Agri-Food Division
Fresh Fruit and Vegetables Section

René Cardinal
Office: 613-221-7214
Cell: 613-295-8909