Food > Meat and Poultry Products > Manual of Procedures > Chapter 10  

CHAPTER 10 - IMPORTS

10.5 Results of inspections

1. for all countries other than the U.S.A., results of inspection carried out in any region should be entered into the computer by regional office staff of that region. Information regarding refused shipments shall be telephoned to the regional office so that they can be entered immediately. Results of passes shipments may be entered when the import inspection report (AGR 1422) is received at regional office;
   
2. Shipments from the U.S.A. which are not designated as skip-lot should be handled the same as in a) above;
   
3. Skip-lot shipments from the U.S.A. which are not going forward to a registered establishment for inspection should have results of inspection entered at the port of landing or at the regional office. The shipment is considered to have passed inspection and the port of landing is considered to be the inspection establishment and would be entered in the Actual Establishment field with the letters PE before the port of landing code, ie. Pacific Highway would be PE9PH.

10.6 Refused products

When a shipment of meat products is refused acceptance, the inspector must immediately hold the meat products and notify the regional office by telephone.

The inspector or an officer of the regional office must officially notify the importer that the shipment he imported is totally or partially refused and that he has ninety (90) days to remove it from Canada or to destroy it under direct supervision of an inspector in accordance with Section 18 of the Meat Inspection Act. The alternatives shall be clearly explained to the importer.
The notice should be the same as the one in section 3 of the handwritten AGR 1422 form (see Annex K) if this latter form is not used. The inspector or the officer of the regional office must make sure that the importer receives the written notice. If the inspector or regional office has not been contacted by the importer after sixty (60) days, than a second notice should be issued to the importer.

In cases where the importer has not responded to the notices and when the ninety (90) days provision has expired, the meat products should be seized and detained by the inspector, and the importer should be notified in writing that the refused meat products are now forfeited to Her Majesty in right of Canada and will be disposed of at his expense within the next two weeks (legal procedures if deemed necessary shall be undertaken within 180 days).

Refused meat products shipped out of Canada shall be handled in the manner described hereafter. In addition, the original meat inspection certificate should be endorsed by an inspector stating that the product has been refused entry into Canada.

1. All shipping containers which are refused entry, must be stamped immediately "Entrée Refusée AGRICULTURE CANADA Refused Entry" as illustrated in Annex O. This procedure will be applied regardless of the reason given for refusal (e.g. contamination, non-conformity to compositional standard, etc.)
   Note: When a shipment is refused at the port of landing in Canada and the shipment has not been unloaded, only the stamping of the export certificate will be sufficient.
   In the case of a shipment that has been refused entry for being mixed with incompatible products on the same vehicle (transport container) and where it is not practicable to stamp the shipping cartons, the inspector must immediately notify the regional office of the certificate number and, of the export stamp number or the shipping marks stamped on the shipping cartons. This information shall be transmitted to the Chief, Import Programs, who will issue instructions to prevent the re-importation of this meat product into Canada.
   
2. Red ink shall be used for stamping containers.
   
3. The stamp must be applied on the main panel of the container without obliterating any information. If this is not feasible, the stamp should be applied on an adjacent panel.
   
4. The stamping must be done by an employee designated by the management of the establishment under the control of an inspector.
   
5. Any problem created by the use of a stamp shall be reported to the regional office in order to make sure the system of control is efficient and effective.
   
6. The refused meat products must be separately stored from any other product until proper disposition.
   
7. The inspector must maintain a log book with the following information:
   1. 
      
   2. country and establishment of origin;
      
   3. type of product;
      
   4. number of containers;
      
   5. total weight;
      
   6. location of the product;
      
   7. date of departure of the product from Canada;
      
   8. certificate number;
      
   9. AGR 1422 number.

    

8. The transport containers or the truck loaded with meat products stamped in such a manner shall be sealed with a red seal bearing the wording AGR CAN REFUSED or AGR CAN REFUSÉE.
   When recording a refused entry, the AGR 1422 shall be completed and forwarded to the regional office without awaiting the products destruction or shipment out of Canada. This may be reported at a later date. A report on form AGR 2479 should be made if there is insufficient space on form AGR 1422 to provide details of the inspector's findings (see 10.2.3.)
   
9. Section 124 of the Meat Inspection Regulations prescribes that the importer of a meat product which has been refused entry into Canada shall present the meat product to an inspector for verification of the removal of the meat product at the time and place of its removal. For that purpose form AGR 4320 "Notice of Removal of the Imported Meat Products Refused Entry" (Annex P) shall be used.
   The inspector in charge of the establishment from where the meat product is shipped out of Canada is responsible to issue the form.
   In addition to the distribution of the copies as indicated on the form, the following instructions should be followed:
   • In the case of U.S. refused shipments, after completion of section 1 and 2, the form shall be sent by facsimile to:
   •  

     Dr. Larry Lee
     Export Coordination Group
     Technical Service Center
     FSIS / USDA
     Omaha, NE
     Fax: (402) 221-7438
     
     

10. parts 1 and 2 of the form shall accompany the shipment to the port of exit. The inspector at the port of exit shall endorse them and shall give Part I to the driver and keep the other one for his file;
11. the inspector at the port of exit is responsible to send by facsimile Part 2 of the form to the person in charge of import at the Regional Office of the region where the product was refused entry; and
12. for U.S. shipments refused entry at port of landing and which are returned to the U.S., the inspector responsible shall issue form AGR 4320 and send it by facsimile to U.S.D.A.

10.7 Inedible meat products

Inedible meat products may be imported provided the following conditions are met:

1. Shipment originates from a country and an establishment that is eligible to export meat products to Canada. An exception is made in the case of inedible meat products of U.S. origin which may be imported from any U.S.D.A. establishment including delisted plants.
   
2. the shipment must be accompanied by the proper certification (see Annex H).
   
3. the product is properly denatured.
   
4. Shipping containers shall be labelled with the following information:
   1. the identity of the meat product in term that are descriptive of the product (eg., denatured beef livers);
      
   2. the words "Product of" and "Produit de", followed by the name of the country of origin, shall be marked in a conspicuous manner in close proximity to the identity of the meat product;
      
   3. in the case of meat product identified for use as animal food, the words "Animal food" or "Aliments pour animaux", or the words naming the animal species for which the meat product is intended, followed by the word "Food" or preceded by the words "Aliments pour";
      
   4. in the case of a meat product identified for medicinal purposes, the words "For medicinal purposes" or "À des fins médicinales", or the words "For pharmaceutical purposes" or "À des fins pharmaceutiques", as the case may be;
      
   5. the net quantity of the meat product;
      
   6. the name and address of the registered establishment where the meat product was produced or labelled, or the person for whom the meat product was produced or labelled, preceded by the words "Prepared for" or "Préparé pour";
      
   7. storage instructions (keep refrigerated or keep frozen); and
      
   8. in lieu of the meat inspection legend, the words "Plant Number" or "Numéro d'usine" followed by the number of the foreign establishment in which the meat product was prepared.

10.8 Pet foods

The importation of prepared pet foods is subject to regulations made under the Health of Animals Act.