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

What We Do

As an organization, the CFIA has undertaken major initiatives to harmonize its various inspection programs to enhance the safety of Canada’s food-supply system and the continued protection of Canadian consumers. In addition, the Agency continues to review the standards used in its inspection programs and identify areas where it can improve.

The CFIA is working with its partners to develop the Integrated Inspection System (IIS), which incorporates Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) principles. A comprehensive, science-based system, the IIS focuses on areas of risk to animals, plant health and food safety.

The Agency has developed strategic alliances and partnerships with other government and industry stakeholders. In implementing the IIS, the Agency and its partners will:

analyze current inspection strategies in the production continuum;
map the food continuum from "gate to plate";
identify hazards along the continuum;
examine the effectiveness and efficiency of control strategies in place; and
introduce new or redesigned strategies where required.

The IIS will create a seamless system of controls and inspection activities. Controls will be proactive and preventive and the philosophy will shift from "see a problem – fix it" to "see a cause – prevent it." It will evolve from currently existing HACCP-based inspection management systems such as the Food Safety Enhancement Program (FSEP) and the Quality Management Program (QMP).

PROGRAM DESIGN AND POLICY DEVELOPMENT

Program design and policy development provide the basic rationale and requirements for inspection activities. Using the best available current science, program design focuses on those inspection activities which seek to minimize risk within the food, animal and plant production continuum. This involves the development of policies, priorities and standards which provide consistency throughout the inspection process. Inspection picture / Image d'inspection

Biotechnology

In Canada, the regulation of the products of biotechnology is a shared responsibility. The CFIA is responsible for carrying out environmental safety assessments on all agricultural products, including new products derived from biotechnology. Health Canada is responsible for assessing all new foods, including those derived from biotechnology. This is done through very thorough and rigorous safety assessments that take into account many factors such as nutrition and allergenicity.

The Agency takes its biotechnology responsibilities very seriously. It created the Office of Biotechnology in response to the federal government’s renewed Canadian Biotechnology Strategy, which integrates social, ethical, health, economic, environmental and regulatory considerations in addressing advances in the Canadian and international biotechnology industry. The Strategy addresses issues of public information and participation, and establishes a balanced, broad-based advisory committee. This revitalized structure provides the context for strengthening the business, regulatory and investment climate and improving the Government’s ability to manage horizontal issues. The CFIA Office of Biotechnology has been an active participant in the development of the Canadian Biotechnology Strategy. The Agency will continue to contribute to the enhancement of Canadian quality of life in terms of health, safety, environment, social and economic development.

THE HAZARD ANALYSIS CRITICAL CONTROL POINT (HACCP) SYSTEM

Emphasis on prevention

One of the tools that industry and government are using to produce safe food is a system called Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP, pronounced "hassip"). This system was first designed and used in the 1960s to ensure safe food for astronauts in the U.S. space program. HACCP is based on detecting and preventing problems in food products during their production. This scientific system is now being used world-wide by the food industry to produce safe food for all consumers.

The CFIA is strongly committed to implementing HACCP and HACCP-based inspection programs and is currently implementing the following HACCP food inspection programs:

the Food Safety Enhancement Program (FSEP) (voluntary for federally-registered establishments under the Meat Inspection Act and the Canada Agricultural Product Act); and
the Quality Management Program (QMP) (mandatory for federally-registered fish processing establishments).

BIOTECHNOLOGY AND THE CFIA

Biotechnology is being used increasingly to produce enhanced agricultural products; its regulation involves most CFIA programs.

Products of biotechnology, including plants, animals, veterinary biologics, fertilizers and livestock feeds, are regulated under the terms of the Seeds Act, the Health of Animals Act, the Fertilizers Act and the Feeds Act, respectively. Imported plant-related material is regulated under the Plant Protection Act.

Guidelines for CFIA safety assessments of these products are developed through technical as well as comprehensive stakeholder consultations, reflecting principles shared by international bodies. The CFIA is also involved in licensing manufacturing facilities and providing post-approval inspection for product labelling and field trials.

Standards

To pursue a coordinated and integrated federal and provincial/territorial inspection system, and to influence greater international equivalency, the CFIA develops policies, priorities and standards which are harmonized, as much as possible, across programs. The objective is to maximize efficiency, effectiveness and consistency of service delivery, both by Agency inspectors and by third parties accredited to provide inspection services to Agency standards. This includes standardization of common functions such as emergency response, import control, licensing, quality assurance and control, and compliance and enforcement standards and policies. Working with industry, standards have been developed which provide for industry to be certified to carry out services to government-approved standards, in such areas as beef grading, seed certification and greenhouse and nursery export phytosanitary requirements.

Science Support

The Agency provides a range of laboratory services which give scientific support to all food-related and animal and plant health programs through risk assessment, technology development, laboratory health and safety standards, environmental standards and diagnostic capability.

The new Canadian Science Centre for Human and Animal Health recently opened in Winnipeg, with Health Canada, provides state-of-the-art diagnostic and research capability of Level 4 infectious disease agents and is an important element in the Agency’s foreign animal disease program, responsible for recognizing and eliminating incursions of a variety of serious livestock diseases. Through its surveillance activities, including domestic surveys, the Agency is able to detect potential disease and pest threats at an early stage.

The Science Evaluation Unit (SEU) at headquarters provides science advice for CFIA decision-making, linking its policies with the overall science and technology governance within the Government of Canada. It is instrumental in predicting and identifying emerging issues, recommends strategies and directions, and assesses the scientific underpinnings of Agency activities. The SEU consults externally and internally to ensure that science advice is well integrated into decisions that guide its policies, regulations and programs. It is anticipated that this will position the CFIA well with respect to the pending Science Advice for Government Effectiveness report by the Council of Science and Technology Advisors. The SEU bases its work on sound science, while incorporating into its analyses the knowledge and expertise of food and quarantine regulators worldwide.

Support to Operational Activities/ Quality Assurance

Maintaining the credibility and integrity of the inspection system is important to all stakeholders. Program designers develop both work plans and performance management tools to measure delivery outputs, and work with their colleagues in Operations to continually improve methodologies and performance through the establishment of quality assurance, verification and audit methodologies.

Relations with Other Jurisdictions

Agency programs facilitate the movement of safe and high quality food and animal and plant products within, in and out of Canada in the following ways: by negotiating technical requirements for the international movement of products; by setting inspection and certification standards and procedures; by negotiating recognition of Canadian standards as equivalent to those of other countries; and, when necessary to protect Canadian interests, by challenging the misuse of technical barriers.

PROGRAM DELIVERY

The Agency delivers 14 unique inspection programs and 26 sub-programs in 18 regions from coast to coast. CFIA staff working in the field have authority, under 13 Acts and their Regulations, to deliver these inspection programs, in accordance with Agency workplans, to meet the CFIA’s mission. Inspection activities are supported by expert scientific and laboratory services.

Many CFIA inspection programs use common strategies – industry compliance inspection or audits of industry control systems, product inspection, pre-approval, registration, licensing, product services and enforcement – to promote safe food, consumer protection and market access.

CFIA Detector Dogs Stand On Guard for Canada

One of our most visible enforcement measures is the Agency’s detector dog program. CFIA detector dogs are stationed at Canada’s busiest airports – Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver.

Beagles are the dog of choice because of their size, intelligence and gentle nature. This latter trait is very important because the dogs also serve a valuable public relations role. Travellers often approach an inspector to ask about the beagle, giving the inspector an opportunity to explain why certain items are not allowed into Canada.

Beagles are primarily chosen for their keen noses – they can detect as many as 80 different scents. The dogs are taught to sniff out foreign food and agricultural products that could carry animal and plant diseases, and pests that could pose a threat to Canada’s wildlife, pets, livestock, crops and forests. Prime targets are dairy products, meat, potatoes, soil, and plant materials. The dogs have made some amazing finds, such as snakes and birds stuffed in jars, work boots covered in foreign soil, meat, even a Polish salami vacuum-packed in a tennis-ball container.

While the beagles’ work may not be as well known as that of dogs used to sniff out narcotic drugs, it can be equally important. With three times as many smuggled products found when the dogs are on duty, the detector dog program has proved to be an invaluable enforcement measure.

Establishment Inspection

Many CFIA inspection programs assess, through inspection or audit, industry’s compliance with government standards and requirements.

An industry compliance inspection is carried out by a CFIA inspector who visits the establishment and, following detailed inspection policies and procedures, verifies that an establishment is operating in accordance with government health, safety and regulatory requirements. Inspections can include a range of assessment methods – verifying cleanliness of facilities, worker hygiene, operational procedures and quality controls, inspection of quarantine facilities, inspection of foreign processing plants and environmental sampling for specific organisms.

The evolution of new inspection methodologies is changing the approach taken to inspection, with an increased focus on government audit of industry activities, supported by strong compliance and enforcement tools. Audit programs include a comprehensive assessment by the CFIA of an industry operation’s in-house control system. CFIA inspectors examine the establishment’s written program and audit its effectiveness at controlling product quality and safety, in compliance with government standards and requirements.

Product Inspection

Product inspection refers to the sampling and testing of food, animals and plants and their products for a variety of product-specific concerns – improper use of food additives, incorrect nutrient composition, the presence of physical matter (glass, metal or wood) and biological concerns (pathogenic organisms or parasites). Product inspection may also include evaluating products for accurate labelling, weight, product quality, grade, purity, and ingredient lists, and verifying that any claims made are factual and not misleading.

Establishment Registration

In some cases, the CFIA requires that physical structures (buildings and equipment) used in the marketing of food, animal and plant products be registered. Examples include food-processing establishments, animal quarantine facilities, approved greenhouses, produce warehouses and maple syrup operations. Registration is a formal recognition granted only after the CFIA determines that specific conditions, such as requirements for construction, operation and the environment, are met and maintained.

Licensing

Under some programs, the CFIA will license an individual or corporate entity to perform specific tasks or to operate under specific conditions. Examples of such tasks include crop inspecting and seed grading. Those that may be granted such a licence include fresh fruit and vegetable importers and dealers, fish importers, operators of meat-manufacturing and slaughter establishments, irradiation facilities and livestock embryo-retrieval teams. The CFIA will perform inspections or audits to verify that the parties are capable of meeting the requirements.

Testing and Accreditation of Non-CFIA Laboratories

The Agency supports the third-party delivery of programs. One initiative involves the development of policies and standards for the accreditation of private laboratories to conduct testing. This requires the ongoing assessment of the laboratories’ quality systems and technical capabilities.

Certification

CFIA inspectors perform services to promote the import and export of safe food, animals and plants, and their products. After conducting inspections or verifying the requirements, CFIA staff may issue certificates or other documents which attest to the fact that a particular product meets specific standards, requirements or conditions of sale under Canadian or foreign-country regulations. Certificates may also be issued for imported shipments and, in some cases, for the domestic movement of products such as plant commodities, apples, potatoes and blueberries. Examples of documentation provided by the CFIA include laboratory results, product grade, and health, safety, standard and quality certificates.

Enforcement Inspection picture / Image d'inspection

As part of, or in addition to, performing planned activities, situations may arise that require CFIA inspectors to perform further investigations. These may be carried out in response to non-compliance to regulatory requirements, product recalls or to address consumer complaints related to suspected food-borne illnesses or allergic reactions, product quality, misrepresentation, labelling concerns, or product contamination with extraneous matter. When an investigation indicates that further action is justified, CFIA inspectors use a variety of enforcement methods, including prosecutions or containment of animals or plants.