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.

New Brunswick Contact(s):
Regional Director, New Brunswick
Canadian Food Inspection Agency
Suite 430
500 Beaverbrook Court
Fredericton, New Brunswick  E3B 5X4
Telephone: 506-452-4963
Fax: 506-451-2562
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).