Statistics: Consumer Food Safety Complaints

Consumers play an important role in the food safety system by reporting any food safety concerns to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA). The information you provide may help us remove unsafe products from the market and warn other consumers.

On average, the CFIA receives 2,000 reports from consumers concerning food safety issues each year. To find out more about the consumer's role in the food safety system, please consult our fact sheet.

You can report a specific food safety or labelling concern by contacting the CFIA.

Consumer Food Safety Complaints (April 2006 - March 2012)

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Description of Bar Graph for Consumer Food Safety Complaints

	Apr 06 - Mar 07	Apr 07 - Mar 08	Apr 08 - Mar 09	Apr 09 - Mar 10	Apr 10 - Mar 11	Apr 11 - Mar 12
Total Complaints	1,940	1,967	2,389	1,916	1,960	1,835

Consumer Food Safety Complaints by Hazard (April 2006 - March 2012)

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Description of Bar Graph for Consumer Food Safety Complaints by Hazard

	Apr 06 - Mar 07	Apr 07 - Mar 08	Apr 08 - Mar 09	Apr 09 - Mar 10	Apr 10 - Mar 11	Apr 11 - Mar 12
Allergen Complaints	129	125	108	100	150	133
Chemical Complaints	174	230	194	124	119	156
Extraneous Matter Complaints	1,132	1,148	1,493	1,170	1,206	1,080
Microbiological Complaints	460	437	565	492	440	426
Other Food Safety Complaints	45	27	29	30	45	40

Glossary

Undeclared allergen: A food product contains ingredients such as peanuts, milk or eggs that are not identified on the label and that can cause adverse reactions in people who are allergic to the item.

Chemical: A food product contains chemical residues such as lead, mercury or pesticides that, at certain levels, can affect human health.

Extraneous material: A food product contains material from an outside source, such as metal, glass or hair. These are not necessarily a risk to human health.

Microbiological: A food product is contaminated by micro-organisms, such as bacteria, viruses or parasites, which have the potential to cause illness.

Other: A food product is of concern due to the presence of marine biotoxins or non-permitted food ingredients; or due to nutrition concerns, irradiation or other health concerns; or tampering.