About the CFIA > Reporting to Parliament > Annual Report > Annual Report 1998 - 1999  

Highlights

The CFIA has achieved an impressive record of accomplishments during its second year of operation. In fulfilling its mission to provide safe food, consumer protection and market access, the organization is dedicated to the achievement of results in administering Canada’s food inspection regulations and programs as illustrated by the following examples:

• Food Safety Enhancement Program – This program focuses on the 2,000 registered agri-food establishments in Canada. The program applies Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) inspection procedures to ensure food safety. These HACCP procedures are designed to reduce food-safety hazards by preventing their occurrence during the production process.

• Consumer Food Safety Education – A large proportion of food-related illnesses occurs as a result of poor food-handling practices after purchase. The CFIA works closely with the Canadian Partnership for Consumer Food Safety Education to promote safe food-handling practices among consumers. This partnership launched the FightBAC!™ media campaign to focus attention on four key food-safety messages – Cook, Clean, Chill and Separate. This initiative provides essential information to the public on safe food-handling procedures to reduce the incidence of food-related illness in Canada.

• Emergency Management – In a crisis, the CFIA’s ultimate goal is to protect Canadian consumers. Emergency response teams have been created and procedures established to deal with all types of emergencies. The Agency works closely with Emergency Preparedness Canada and other levels of government as well as with private sector organizations. For example, during the ice storm that struck eastern Ontario and western Quebec in January 1998, CFIA staff worked around the clock with food producers, processors and federal and provincial government agencies to minimize the impact of the storm on the food-safety system.

• Legislative Renewal – In the consultation process that led to the creation of the Agency, consumers, provincial governments and industry associations identified the need to modernize and consolidate federal food legislation, and to harmonize legislation in areas of shared jurisdiction. The Agency has supported this process by completing a thorough review of Canada’s food legislation. A bill, entitled the Canada Food Safety and Inspection Act, was introduced and given first reading in the House of Commons in April 1999. The goal of this legislative proposal is to provide a more consistent and comprehensive approach to safety and quality standards.

• Inspection Agreements – The CFIA is responsible for negotiating federal-provincial and international food inspection agreements. In 1998-99, the Agency established a more formal approach to coordinating partnerships involving the CFIA and its partners in the provinces and territories. Agreements to eliminate overlap in food inspection activities were signed with the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, the Ministère de l’agriculture, des pêcheries et de l’alimentation du Québec, Alberta Agriculture, Food and Rural Development, and the Government of the Northwest Territories. Work is progressing on an agreement with the newly-created Government of Nunavut.
  

  Meat Hygiene Program – The CFIA is responsible for inspecting all meat and meat products sold by the 800 federally-registered meat processing, slaughter and storage establishments in Canada. About 606 million animals, including poultry, used for food consumption were inspected by the CFIA during 1998. Re-engineered Fish Quality Management Program – More than $3 billion of Canadian fish and seafood products are shipped annually to domestic and international markets. Federally- registered companies involved in fish production are required to participate in the Agency’s re- engineered Quality Management Program designed to meet Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point food safety inspection principles. Dairy and Egg Programs – During 1998-99, approximately 275 Canadian dairy establishments were registered with the CFIA under the Canada Agricultural Products Act. Registered establishments receive in-depth inspections to ensure that processing is carried out in accordance with good manufacturing practices. Inspection results for the year reveal that 96 per cent of products inspected were in compliance with health, safety and compositional standards.

• Plant Protection Program – The CFIA is responsible for detecting, containing, eradicating and preventing the introduction of regulated pests in Canada, as well as certifying plants and plant products for domestic and export trade. Insect surveys enable the Agency to detect new and incipient pest populations and provide a quick response to prevent the spread of pests within Canada. Surveys in 1998-99 focused on apple maggot, blueberry maggot, gypsy moth, Japanese beetle, oriental fruit moth, pine shoot beetle, soybean cyst nematode and exotic bark beetles.

• Laboratories and Laboratory Services – CFIA laboratories provide scientific support to monitor the safety and quality of food, protect consumers and to ensure that Canadian imports and exports meet our safety requirements as well as those of our trading partners. The laboratories conduct research, provide scientific advice, develop new technologies, provide testing services and accredit non-CFIA laboratories to provide other food-safety and food-related services. The scientific expertise and services provided by the laboratories are essential to the delivery of the CFIA’s mandate.

• Biotechnology – In Canada, the regulation of products of biotechnology is a shared responsibility. While Health Canada is responsible for assessing all new foods including those derived from biotechnology, the CFIA is responsible for carrying out environmental safety assessments on all agricultural products, including new products derived from biotechnology. CFIA staff who are involved in the environmental assessments – molecular biologists, ecologists and plant scientists – bring a wealth of expertise to the process. After a product is approved, the Agency relies upon existing legislation to provide additional safeguards, and inspectors across the country who monitor for food safety. In fact, Canada’s rigorous regulatory system for agricultural products derived from biotechnology has been used as a model in other countries.