Food Safety Enhancement Program

The objective of the Food Safety Enhancement Program (FSEP) of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) is to ensure that the conditions under which food products are manufactured and the ingredients used in their manufacture lead to the production of safe food.

The FSEP Manual can help guide the management and employees of the food industry through the steps needed for insuring food safety.

Eligibility Criteria

FSEP applies to the following commodity groups:

• meat and poultry
• dairy
• processed fruit and vegetables
• shell eggs
• processed eggs
• honey
• maple
• hatcheries.

Summary

FSEP encourages all federally registered establishments with the exception of fish and seafood establishments, to develop, implement and maintain a Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) system.

FSEP takes a preventive approach to controlling food safety. It applies control throughout the food manufacturing process, while ensuring that all food safety regulations are being met.

Most businesses will find that many of the controls required in a HACCP system are already in place and operating in their establishments.

HACCP plans must follow seven basic principles:

1. List the hazards associated with each step and incoming materials.
2. Apply the HACCP decision tree to determine critical control points.
3. Establish critical limits.
4. Establish monitoring procedures.
5. Establish deviation procedures.
6. Establish verification procedures.
7. Establish record keeping and documentation for Principles 1 through 6.

The Web site provides more information including HACCP generic models and the FSEP Manual.

Note: the CFIA released a revised Food Safety Enhancement Program Manual dated July 6, 2006. Since then amendments have been made to the manual. These amendments have been included in a new release version of the manual dated April 1, 2007. For ease of reference, the Web site outlines the amendments.

Quebec Contact(s):
Regional Director, Montreal East
Canadian Food Inspection Agency
Room 600
7101 Jean-Talon Street East
Anjou, Quebec  H1M 3N7
Telephone: 514-493-8859
Fax: 514-493-9965
Toll-free (information): 1-800-442-2342
TTY Toll-free (hearing impaired): 1-800-465-7735
Web site: http://www.inspection.gc.ca/english/toce.shtml

Regional Director, Montreal West
Canadian Food Inspection Agency
Room 1450
2021 Union Street
Montréal, Quebec  H3A 2S9
Telephone: 514-283-8982
Fax: 514-283-1855
Toll-free (information): 1-800-442-2342
TTY Toll-free (hearing impaired): 1-800-465-7735
Web site: http://www.inspection.gc.ca/english/toce.shtml

Regional Director, Saint-Hyacinthe
Canadian Food Inspection Agency
Suite 206
3100 Laframboise Boulevard
Saint-Hyacinthe, Quebec  J2S 4Z4
Telephone: 450-773-6639
Fax: 450-774-8522
Toll-free (information): 1-800-442-2342
TTY Toll-free (hearing impaired): 1-800-465-7735
Web site: http://www.inspection.gc.ca/english/toce.shtml

Regional Director, Québec
Canadian Food Inspection Agency
Suite 100
Place Iberville IV
2954 Laurier Boulevard
Ste-Foy, Quebec  G1V 5C7
Telephone: 418-648-7373
Fax: 418-648-4792
Toll-free (information): 1-800-442-2342
TTY Toll-free (hearing impaired): 1-800-465-7735
Web site: http://www.inspection.gc.ca/english/toce.shtml

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National Contact(s):
Canadian Food Inspection Agency
59 Camelot Drive
Nepean, Ontario  K1A 0Y9
Telephone: 613-225-2342
Fax: 613-228-6601
Toll-free (information): 1-800-442-2342
TTY Toll-free (hearing impaired): 1-800-465-7735
Web site: http://www.inspection.gc.ca/english/toce.shtml
Hours of operation: Monday to Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. (Eastern Time).