Implementation of Health Canada’s Revised Policy on Listeria monocytogenes in Ready-To-Eat Foods

Health Canada’s Policy on Listeria monocytogenes in Ready-To-Eat Foods is an important tool used by industry and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) to identify steps that can be taken to reduce the risk of Listeria monocytogenes contamination in all ready-to-eat foods.

The Policy was recently updated. The revised version will come into effect on April 1, 2011. It affects all ready-to-eat foods, including but not limited to meat, poultry, fish, fruits and vegetables, and dairy products.

The CFIA will continue to verify compliance with regulatory requirements relating to Listeria monocytogenes in ready-to-eat foods. The CFIA takes a risk-based approach to compliance verification, and uses existing compliance verification procedures to assess whether industry is complying with applicable regulatory requirements.

In the coming weeks, the CFIA will issue more detailed, program-specific information regarding compliance verification.

Reference Material

• Policy on Listeria monocytogenes in Ready-to-Eat Foods
• 2011-03-09 - Letter to Stakeholders