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About the CFIA > Reporting to Parliament > Annual Report > Annual Report 2002 - 2003  

PERFORMANCE BY BUSINESS LINE

3.2 FOOD SAFETY

The CFIA's Contribution to Canadians

Food safety is the CFIA's top priority. The CFIA develops and delivers programs and services designed to protect Canadians from preventable food safety hazards, and to ensure that food safety emergencies are effectively managed and that the public is aware of, and contributes to, food safety. Primarily, this involves verifying that food producers, manufacturers, importers and distributors comply with federal food safety regulations. The CFIA also undertakes activities to verify that food imports and exports meet legislative and regulatory requirements, thereby strengthening Canada's international reputation for safe, quality products.

Key Partners

The CFIA works with others in carrying out its activities related to safe food and fair labelling practices. Our key partners include:

Other federal departments and agencies: At the federal level, Health Canada and the CFIA share unique and complementary roles and responsibilities. Health Canada is responsible for establishing food safety policies and standards, while the CFIA is responsible for all food inspection and compliance activities, as well as for developing regulations and policies related to compositional standards and labelling for food. The CFIA also works closely with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada in support of the Government of Canada's Agricultural Policy Framework.

Provincial governments: The CFIA partners with provincial and territorial governments to share expertise and coordinate activities to facilitate compliance with both federal and provincial regulations and delivery of emergency response services (e.g., food recalls).

Non-government stakeholders: The Agency works with industry, consumer associations and individual processors to identify and address emerging food safety and labelling concerns.

International organizations and trading partners: The CFIA negotiates and manages product-specific technical arrangements with other countries with a view to seeing that food safety standards are science-based and effectively adhered to in a manner that leads to safe food and avoids unnecessarily disrupting trade. The negotiation of these technical arrangements is conducted in partnership with our federal partners.

In addition to this network of bilateral agreements, the CFIA, with Health Canada and others, promotes and develops science-based international food safety standards within the Codex Alimentarius Commission (CODEX), part of the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Food and Agriculture Organization. The CFIA, with the support of other federal partners, also represents Canada at the World Trade Organization (WTO) and North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) committees on the application of sanitary and phytosanitary measures.

Description of the Programs

During 2002-03, activities under the CFIA's food safety business line were delivered at a cost of approximately $332 million, representing 59 percent of the Agency's spending. A total of 2425 full-time employees were dedicated to this business line. The Agency delivers nine food safety programs that focus on the following strategic activities, as listed in the 2002-03 RPP:

• Compliance with federal acts, regulations and standards

• Industry adoption of science-based risk management practices

• Food safety emergencies/incidents are contained in a timely and appropriate manner

• Meet other governments' science-based food safety requirements and contribute to the development of jointly agreed-upon operational methods

• Deterrence of deceptive and unfair market practices

3.2.1 Compliance with federal acts, regulations and standards

In 2002-03, the CFIA continued to verify that domestic and imported food products met the requirements set out in federal acts and regulations. Each program undertook similar approaches to promote and verify industry compliance, through such activities as: establishment inspections, product testing, food safety investigations and enforcement actions. The following provides a high-level summary of performance in each of these areas. Further information on performance for each of the CFIA's nine food safety programs is available in Annex 1.

Establishment inspections: Inspections of federally registered establishments, which may include audits or verifications of industry food safety programs, were carried out in the following programs: Meat Hygiene; Fish, Seafood and Production; Processed Products; Egg; Dairy; and Honey. For each program, establishment compliance is assessed at specified points in time to ensure that establishments continue to meet regulatory requirements. Each program also uses a number of indicators to assess levels of both industry compliance (i.e., establishment ratings, facility conformity rates) and CFIA service delivery (i.e., compliance verification delivery rates). Where an individual establishment is determined to be out of compliance, the CFIA takes action as prescribed in each program in order that the establishment initiates corrective action. The Agency may also take additional measures such as increasing the number of inspections, or suspending or revoking licences.

The following table summarizes the available data concerning establishment compliance in the various food safety programs. Nationally tabulated rates of establishment compliance are not currently available for all food safety programs. The Agency has recognized this as an area that requires improvement. Nevertheless, available compliance rates, while not fully validated, suggest reasonably high compliance ranging from 90 to 99 percent.

In 2002-03, the CFIA continued its efforts to improve the quality of performance information through developing an Agency-wide Performance Management Framework. In the Meat Hygiene and Fish, Seafood and Production programs, pilots were conducted that allowed for the collection of key data against identified performance indicators for the period from January to March 2003. While the ability to draw conclusions is limited due to the short timeframe, the pilots allowed the programs to validate performance indicators, set targets and conduct preliminary analysis of performance.

Product testing: In 2002-03, the CFIA tested thousands of imported and domestic food samples for the presence of chemical, microbiological and physical hazards. Product sampling and testing was conducted for all of the nine food safety programs, both according to established, risk-based sampling plans and in support of food safety investigations or recalls.

Product testing is an area where the CFIA has identified problems in some programs with respect to the availability of national summary data. While laboratory test results are always provided to the inspector who submitted the sample, and enforcement actions are taken if required, work continues on improving the CFIA's Laboratory Sample Tracking System so that results may be tabulated and analysed on a national basis. For this report, efforts were made to manually collate some of the required information. While these product compliance rates may not be statistically reliable, they can indicate trends and highlight areas of non-compliance. Where product testing compliance rates have been tabulated, they have been reasonably high. For example, the Agency's monitoring of fresh and processed fruit and vegetables for residues of pesticides in excess of limits established by Health Canada continues to exceed 99-percent compliance. Similarly, the Agency's monitoring of antibiotics, veterinary drugs and other chemical residues in meat exceeded 96-percent compliance in all categories. Some examples of areas of low compliance that the Agency is addressing include aflatoxin levels in imported nuts, non-approved food-colouring agents in imported food, iodine addition to table salt, patulin levels in apple juice and chloramphenicol in imported honey.

Food safety investigations: In addition to inspecting products that are produced in federally registered establishments, the CFIA enforces the food safety provisions of the Food and Drugs Act, which includes inspections, investigations and emergency management activities (i.e., food recalls) for all domestically produced and imported foods. The CFIA investigates consumer and trade complaints and, through its science committees, directs inspection resources towards products and establishments that are determined to pose the greatest risk to consumers.

During 2002-03, the CFIA developed or continued 14 food safety projects (out of 19 projects proposed for potential delivery in 2002-03). These projects included activities such as product testing, establishment inspections or industry education. Projects also involved the development of lists of manufacturers, importers or distributors of certain commodities, to be used for future inspections and sampling.

The delivery of these priority projects in 2002-03 allowed the CFIA to investigate potentially high-risk products or establishments and, where non-compliance was identified, to undertake appropriate follow-up actions. For example, establishment inspections and testing of bottled water samples for microbial contamination demonstrated that good manufacturing practices are being followed and that there is a high level of level of product compliance. Similarly, an assessment of the Canadian sprout industry found improvements in the level of industry compliance over previous years. A survey of imported nuts and peanut butter for aflatoxin (a toxin produced by mould) indicated a moderate level of non-compliance, and as a result this project will continue in 2003-04. A survey of iodine addition to table salt found a high level of non-compliance which the CFIA is working with Health Canada to address.

More complete information on the 14 food safety investigation projects conducted during 2002-03 is available in Annex 1.

Enforcement actions: In 2002-03, the CFIA conducted 347 active investigations under the Canada Agricultural Products Act, the Consumer Packaging and Labelling Act, the Fish Inspection Act, the Food and Drugs Act and the Meat Inspection Act. From these investigations, 86 prosecutions were initiated resulting in a total of 93 convictions for offences such as selling a product that was labelled in a false, misleading or deceptive manner; importing undeclared food; or moving a detained product without proper authority. Fines assessed by the courts for these convictions totalled $212 300. The CFIA provides a complete listing of prosecution bulletins, issued whenever convictions are obtained, on its Web site at:

http://www.inspection.gc.ca/english/corpaffr/projud/projude.shtml

In support of its ongoing regulatory activities, and to address the challenges and risks outlined in the CFIA's 2002-03 RPP, the CFIA also fulfilled the following commitments:

• New inspection procedures were developed for nutrition labelling evaluation and enforcement in support of Health Canada's amendments
  of the Food and Drug Regulations on nutrition labelling, nutrient content claims and health claims.

• CFIA science committees identified and prioritized potential hazards in the food supply and directed inspection resources to those areas determined to be of highest risk.

• Redesign of food safety programs took place in 2002-03. These initiatives are primarily associated with the CFIA's ongoing efforts to redesign inspection programs to effectively assess industry's Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) and quality management programs (see below).

• The CFIA assisted Health Canada in its assessment of the Agency's activities related to domestic, ready-to-eat meat products. Health Canada's assessment report and the CFIA's management response were finalized and published on Health Canada's Web site in April 2003.

http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/food-aliment/fsa-esa/report_cfia/e_report_cfia.html

3.2.2 Industry adoption of science-based risk management practices

The Agency is actively promoting the use of Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) principles in the meat, fish, processed products, egg, dairy and honey industries and on farms. These science-based principles are internationally recognized as the best means to prevent food safety problems, be they biological, physical or chemical. In HACCP-based systems, the CFIA and industry's primary goal is to identify and control hazards in the food production process and to prevent problems by monitoring these "critical points." Currently, HACCP-based programs are voluntary except for fish--HACCP is mandatory for federally registered fish processing establishments. In addition, the Meat Hygiene program is currently in transition to a mandatory HACCP-based audit approach.

The following table demonstrates the progress made by the CFIA in promoting industry's adoption of science-based risk management practices. Given that the adoption of HACCP-based systems remains voluntary for the majority of federally registered facilities, progress is dependent upon the regulated industries' willingness to adopt these approaches. Progress is also dependent on the CFIA's capacity to recognize and approve industry's HACCP-based systems. As the CFIA moves toward the implementation of mandatory HACCP-based systems, work will be required in the development of more robust and comprehensive performance targets and indicators.

As part of the Government of Canada's Agriculture Policy Framework initiative, the CFIA is working with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, provincial governments and national producer organizations to develop and implement a recognition process for industry-developed on-farm food safety programs. With the participation of the provinces and territories, the CFIA leads the process of assessing the technical soundness of on-farm food safety programs.

In 2002-03, the CFIA successfully completed an on-farm food safety technical review pilot project, which led to the initiation of reviews of on-farm food safety programs for dairy, eggs and animal feed. To formally launch the recognition process, the CFIA hosted a national training and orientation session for on-farm food safety with representation from producer organizations and federal, provincial and territorial governments. In addition, the CFIA formed a joint committee with the Standards Council of Canada to develop criteria for third-party services as part of Phase Two (implementation and third-party audit) of the On-Farm Food Safety Recognition Program.

In response to the specific challenges and risks outlined in the 2002-03 RPP, the CFIA continued to provide scientific and technical support to industry initiatives to move toward HACCP-based programs. In keeping with this transition, the CFIA also carried out initiatives to redesign Agency inspection programs. For example:

• The CFIA introduced the Meat Inspection Reform Strategy to guide industry to the mandatory HACCP implementation in all federally registered meat and poultry establishments. This initiative includes livestock traceability as an element of food safety and promotes greater industry accountability.

• The Agency issued a Meat Hygiene Directive requiring all federally inspected plants processing raw beef products to strengthen their HACCP plans and scientifically validate them so that the bacterial pathogen E. coli O157:H7 is reduced to below-detectable levels.

• Enhancements were made to planning and delivering the CFIA's Quality Management Program for fish through the introduction of revised methods of compliance verification.

• At the request of the fresh fruit and vegetables industry, the Agency piloted a Canadian Partners in Quality (C-PIQ) Program, which began in 2001, with the objective of simplifying the export certification process for potatoes exported to the United States. Facilities registered under the program are audited by the CFIA using audit principles similar to those used in HACCP and ISO quality control systems. In 2003, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) accepted the C-PIQ Program as an alternative for certification of Canadian potatoes. In the future, the Agency will aim toward expanding the program to include onions and field tomatoes, and at achieving acceptance from the USDA for these commodities.

3.2.3 Food safety emergencies/incidents are contained in a timely and appropriate manner

One of the CFIA's top priorities is to protect Canadians from preventable health risks such as those associated with unsafe food. Risks to consumers may include allergens not declared on food labels, microbiological pathogens, extraneous materials or chemical contaminants. Under the provisions of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency Act and the Food and Drugs Act, the CFIA coordinates food safety recalls. Most food safety recalls are conducted with voluntary participation of the responsible manufacturer, food processor or distributor.

When the CFIA learns of a potential food safety issue, an investigation is launched to determine whether the product poses a risk. Where a health risk is confirmed and a distributed product is in violation of legislation enforced by the CFIA, the issue is recorded as an incident.

During the 2002-03 fiscal year, the CFIA co-ordinated 4961 food safety, labelling and fraud investigations, which resulted in 381 recalls. CFIA and Health Canada specialists provided health risk assessments. CFIA staff also monitored food safety issues and recalls in other countries to identify issues that could affect the Canadian food supply.

The CFIA met its established standard on response timeliness by issuing all Class I recall media releases within 24 hours of a recall decision being made. Most (77 percent) media releases were issued less than eight hours after a recall decision. CFIA staff monitored a food safety emergency line and responded to food safety emergencies 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The CFIA coordinated 381 recalls in 2002-03 for reasons shown in the following table.

The CFIA analysed statistical data for trends and determined that, of the 381 recalls last year, 202 (53 percent) were for imported products and 179 (47 percent) were for domestically manufactured products. Undeclared allergens, primarily sulphites, continued to be the leading cause of recalls. Many of these recalls were associated with processed fruit products imported from Syria. As a result, the CFIA introduced a targeted sampling and testing program for Syrian jams and other imported processed fruit products. Follow-up activities were conducted at Canadian import establishments to ensure similar products met regulatory requirements. Jams, marmalades and fruit preserves (conserves) from Lebanon, Iran and Pakistan were also sampled and tested for sulphite residues.

The leading causes of recalls for microbiological contamination were Salmonella, Listeria and E.coli 0157:H7. Listeria was found in various ready-to-eat meat and dairy products, such as frankfurters and cheese. Salmonella was found in assorted foods, such as sausage and spices, and E. coli 0157:H7 was primarily found in burgers, ground beef and some cheese products.

The Agency also reviews recall trends in various commodity groups. In 2002-03, the distribution of recalls across commodities was as follows:

In 2002-03, the number of food safety, labelling and fraud investigations increased from 4462 to 4961, while the number of recalls decreased from 474 to 381 compared with 2001-02. Since 1999, the CFIA has developed the ability to track and identify trends in food recall. Targeting repeat offenders and follow-up investigations on recalls have proven to be effective tools for managing food safety risks. The following table shows the number of food safety, labelling and fraud investigations and resulting recalls for the past three years.

The CFIA conducted more than 16 000 recall effectiveness checks in 2002-03 to verify whether recalled products had been removed from the marketplace.

To further enhance collaboration among levels of government during foodborne illness outbreaks, the CFIA and Health Canada revised and updated a national Foodborne Illness Outbreak Response Protocol. The protocol provides operating procedures for coordination of activities among federal, provincial and territorial agencies during investigation and control of foodborne illness outbreaks. The revised protocol is expected to be implemented following further consultations with the provinces and territories.

Specific initiatives undertaken in 2002-03 to improve the Agency's overall emergency management procedures are addressed in Section 3.5.4.

3.2.4 Meet other governments' science-based food safety requirements, and contribute to the development of jointly agreed-upon operational methods and procedures

Meeting other governments' science-based food safety requirements

The CFIA's performance in meeting the requirements of other governments may be assessed by indicators such as export rejection rates. While rejection rates for exports are not currently available for all commodities, this indicator has been incorporated into the CFIA's Performance Management Framework pilots for meat and fish. The available data indicates low rejection rates for meat and fish and seafood products, and improvements in the rejection rates for dairy products as industry adapts to new dairy export procedures.

In 2002-03, Canada exported approximately 1.8 million tonnes of meat and meat products to 116 countries. Of this total, 99.96 percent met other governments' food safety requirements as measured by rates of entry. This high acceptance rate demonstrates a high level of confidence, both in Canada's regulatory system and in the safety and quality of Canadian meat and meat products.

With respect to fish and seafood products, the CFIA issued over 42 000 export certificates to 110 countries. As part of the Agency's Performance Management Framework pilot, the number of export incidents (e.g., product rejections) of fish and seafood products are being tabulated. From January to March 2003, a total of 23 incidents were reviewed and only one lot was found to have been rejected for food safety reasons and to have originated from a federally registered facility. The majority of incidents involved products from non-federally registered facilities.

Canadian dairy products are also exported to many countries worldwide. The CFIA conducts export verifications of domestic dairy products submitted for export product certification. Of 193 export verifications conducted in 2002-03, only 16 lots of dairy products were found to be non-compliant.

This represents a compliance rate of 91.7 percent, and it also represents a significant improvement over the rate of 76 percent noted when new dairy export procedures were implemented in 2000-01.

Contributing to the development of jointly agreed-upon operational methods and procedures

In 2002-03, the CFIA continued to co-lead, with Health Canada, Canada's participation in CODEX (the international organization for developing food standards, guidelines and related texts). In this role, the CFIA contributed to the development of the following:

• Proposed Code of Practice for Fish and Fishery Products;

• Draft Code of Hygienic Practice for Meat; and

• Code of Hygienic Practice for Eggs and Egg Products.

The Agency also continued to enhance foreign governments' and industries' awareness and knowledge of Canadian import requirements and Canadian exporters' knowledge of foreign governments' requirements. For example, in 2002-03, the CFIA worked with teams of inspectors from the United States and Russia who visited Canada to assess selected Canadian meat establishments. The CFIA also reviewed the meat inspection systems of 29 U.S. establishments as part of an information exchange exercise to inform the U.S. government and establishments of Canadian import requirements. Similarly, the CFIA inspected Indonesian systems and controls for fish and seafood products and, subsequently, approved these products for import into Canada.

3.2.5 Deterrence of deceptive and unfair market practices

The CFIA deters deceptive practices by investigating consumer and trade complaints, and by using education, inspection, product testing and enforcement to encourage compliance. The Agency also establishes and delivers priority projects in areas that are deemed to be high risk. Initiatives undertaken by the CFIA in 2002-03 to protect consumers from unfair market practices included projects to enhance compliance in areas such as the adulteration of ground beef, labelling of sports nutrition products and adulteration of olive oil. Annex 1 provides complete details concerning the results of the CFIA's activities in these areas.

In support of its ongoing regulatory activities, and to address the challenges and risks that were outlined in the CFIA's 2002-03 RPP, the CFIA also fulfilled the following commitments:

• Contributed to the development of Health Canada's proposed amendments to the Food and Drug Regulations on nutrition labelling, nutrient content claims and health claims, pre-packaged water and ice, enhanced allergen labelling, labelling as a public health tool, natural health products, vitamin and mineral fortification, and the labelling of foods treated by ionizing radiation.

• Provided guidance to stakeholders on requirements of the amended regulations.

• Participated on CODEX committees dealing with food composition and labelling issues related to fruit and vegetable juices, fats and oils, sugars and honey, processed fruits and vegetables, and the labelling of foods treated by ionizing radiation.

• Developed new inspection procedures and enforcement policies in support of Canada's new nutrition labelling regulations.

• Developed new training materials in the areas of nutrition labelling, nutrient content claims and health claims, nutrient fortification and net quantity.

• Worked with the Canadian General Standards Board to contribute to the development of voluntary standards for organic agriculture and labelling of foods derived from biotechnology.

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