The Canadian Food Inspection Agency announced new standards for food safety.
The federal regulatory body released a statement on Tuesday, saying that Canada’s food safety system is “meeting regulations that is consistent with international standards.” The agency is mandating that businesses obtain a safety licence if they import or export food. They also have to focus on preventative measures to avoid food safety risks, as well as increase the speed of food removal.
“It’s to make food safer with better preventions,” said , chief food & safety officer of Canada Lyzette Lamondin.
Lamondin says food businesses that handle products such as meat, fish, dairy, eggs, fruits, vegetables, honey and maple products must follow the new regulations as of Jan. 15, 2019. These companies must also take hygiene and hazardous-based preventative controls to ensure safety.
The CFIA says traceability records from suppliers are a new standard.
"We can trace back the chain of custody to find out where the problem started. Then trace forward to where the products went and get them off the shelf," Lamondin said.
Lamondin says companies have kept their own records in the past, but they were not always up-to-date.
“Once in a while somebody has not maintained those records or we can read them, we lose valuable time in a trace back or a recall and that puts people at risk,” Lamondin said.
The CFIA says all other types of food companies will be phased in over the next 12 to 30 months depending on commodity, type of activity or size of the business.
They say all food businesses must be licensed no later than 2022.
