CFIA Can Issue Monetary Penalities to Businesses That Do Not Meet Canada’s Meat Safety Requirements

This video presents “Canada’s Meat Industry – The Canadian Advantage.”

Canada’s meat industry includes the following profitable items:

Beef and Veal
- By 2014, there were 12.215 million cattle and calves on approximately 82,665 Canadian farms and ranches.
  - Alberta accounts for approximately 42% of this inventory.
- Farm cash receipts from the sale of cattle and calves in 2013 totalled $6.8 billion, 12.4% of total farm receipts.
- Canada’s beef and veal exports increased by 2.9% from 2012 to 278,966 tonnes in 2013, valued at $1.33 billion.
- Exports to the United States, China, Hong Kong, Japan and Mexico.
  - The United States is the major export market for Canadian beef accounting for approximately 71% of exports.
  - In 2013, over 1 million head of cattle were exported to the United States for breeding, feeding and processing with feeder cattle exports making up a larger proportion of the trade.
  - In 2013 feeder cattle exports to the US represented 35% of the live trade, up from 21% in 2012.
Pork
- By 2014, there were 12.745 million hogs on approximately 7,090 farms.
- Farm cash receipts from the sale of slaughter hogs in 2013 totalled $4.1 billion, 7.5% of total farm receipts.
- In addition, 735,500 head went to processing facilities in the United States and 4.17 million head of isowean/weaner/feeder hogs went for feeding and finishing on United States farms.
- Exports to the United States, Japan and China.
  - Exports of pork and pork products to all countries are estimated at $3.2 billion in 2013.
  - Processed pork sales totalled an estimated 71,811 tonnes in 2013 with the United States being the dominant purchaser (44.5%).
Lamb and Mutton
- By 2014, there were 893,000 sheep and lambs on approximately 10,111 farms.
- Canadian sheep production is mostly located in Ontario, Quebec and Alberta (73%).
- Farm cash receipts for sheep and lambs in 2013 totalled $117.8 million, 0.2% of total farm receipts.
Goat, Rabbit, Horse
- 225,461 goats on about 5,949 farms in Canada were reported in the 2011 Census of Agriculture, a growth of 27% within the last 5 years.
  - In Canada, the goat industry can be segmented into three distinct sectors: chevon (meat), dairy (milk) and fibre (mohair and cashmere).
Bison
- 125,142 bison on about 1,211 farms in Canada according to the 2011 Census of Agriculture.
- Bison production is primarily concentrated in the west, with 77% of the herd concentrated in Saskatchewan and Alberta.
- Exports of bison meat are primarily to the US, but boneless product is also shipped to numerous countries in Europe, most notably France, Switzerland, Germany, and Italy.
Venison
- 52,051 head of Canadian farm raised cervids (deer and elk) on about 952 farms were reported in the 2011 Census of Agriculture, a decrease of 55% within the last 5 years.
- Elk are primarily farmed in western Canada and red deer in the eastern provinces.
- Fallow deer, white-tailed deer and other cervid species are found throughout Canada.

With annual shipments worth $22.9 billion in 2013, the red meat industry is the largest sector of the Canadian food manufacturing industry.

Canada’s meat processing companies manufacture a wide variety of meat products ranging from fresh and frozen meat to processed, smoked, canned and cooked meats, as well as sausage and deli meats.
In addition to its red meat exports, Canada can provide halal-certified, kosher and organic meat and meat products.

This is an update to the previous blog, Canada Proposes Monetary Penalties in Food Safety Enforcement: Give Your Input Until March 22, 2014.

Today, Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) can now issue Administrative Monetary Penalities (AMPs) to businesses that do not meet Canada’s meat safety requirements.

The new regulatory amendment expands Administrative Monetary Penalities (AMPs) to the Meat Inspection Act and the Meat Inspection Regulations, 1990.

Canadian Food Inspection Agency Inspector / Inspecteur de l'Agence canadienne d’inspection des aliments. Image extracted from video above / Image extraite de la vidéo ci-dessus. — Canadian Food Inspection Agency Inspector / Inspecteur de l’Agence canadienne d’inspection des aliments. Image extracted from video above / Image extraite de la vidéo ci-dessus.

NEWS RELEASE

Harper Government Strengthens Food Safety Enforcement

Introduces monetary penalties for non-compliance with meat safety requirements

July 16, 2014 – Ottawa, ON – Canadian Food Inspection Agency

Today, the Government of Canada is further strengthening Canada’s food safety system by allowing the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) to issue monetary penalties to businesses that do not meet Canada’s meat safety requirements. The new regulatory amendment expands Administrative Monetary Penalities (AMPs) to the Meat Inspection Act and the Meat Inspection Regulations, 1990.

The regulations come into force immediately. The CFIA will be working with the Canadian meat industry to help gradually transition to the new regulations. The amendments to the Agriculture and Agri-Food Administrative Monetary Penalities Regulations were published in Canada Gazette, Part II on July 16, 2014.

Quick Facts

This regulatory amendment will allow CFIA inspectors to issue an AMP for non-compliance with 84 provisions of the Meat Inspection Act (MIA) and the Meat Inspection Regulations (MIR). These provisons include items related to: food safety (control programs such as HACCP) and non-food safety (labelling and consumer protection).
AMPs do not replace existing inspection and enforcement tools, but instead offer the Agency an additional tool in managing non-compliance situations.
The expansion of the AMPs to include the MIA and MIR supports other activities being undertaken by the CFIA, such as those outlined in the Healthy and Safe Food for Canadians Framework. This framework illustrates how our Government is working to prevent food safety risks and protect Canadians when unsafe products enter the marketplace.

Quotes

Knowing that food is healthy and safe to eat is fundamentally important to all Canadians and their families. Our Government is committed to protecting consumers and is taking steps to further strengthen Canada’s food safety system by introducing penalties for companies that fail to meet meat safety requirements.

– Rona Ambrose, Minister of Health

AMPs are an additional tool that will support the CFIA in delivering its mandate for food safety. AMPs do not replace existing inspection and enforcement tools, but instead offer additional flexibility in addressing meat-related violations.

– Dr. Martine Dubuc, Chief Food Safety Officer for Canada and Vice-President, Science Branch, CFIA

Related Products

Government of Canada announces plans to strengthen food safety enforcement

Government of Canada Launches Consultations to Strengthen Food Safety Enforcement

Associated Links

CFIA‘s Compliance and Enforcement Policy

Backgrounder

Healthy and Safe Food for Canadians Framework

Contacts

Michael Bolkenius
Office of the Honourable Rona Ambrose
Federal Minister of Health
613-957-0200

Communiqué de presse

Le gouvernement Harper renforce l’application de la réglementation en matière de salubrité alimentaire

Instaure des sanctions pécuniaires pour la non-conformité aux exigences de salubrité des viandes

Le 16 juillet 2014 – Ottawa (Ontario) – Agence canadienne d’inspection des aliments

Aujourd’hui, le gouvernement du Canada renforce le système de salubrité des aliments du Canada en permettant à l’Agence canadienne d’inspection des aliments (ACIA) d’infliger des sanctions pécuniaires aux entreprises qui ne respectent pas les exigences en matière de salubrité de la viande du Canada. La nouvelle modification réglementaire élargit la portée des sanctions administratives pécuniaires (SAP) pour inclure les violations aux termes de la Loi sur l’inspection des viandes (LIV) et du Règlement de 1990 sur l’inspection des viandes.

Le nouveau règlement sur les SAP entre en vigueur immédiatement. L’ACIA travaillera de concert avec le secteur canadien de la viande pour appuyer la transition progressive au nouveau règlement. Les modifications apportées au Règlement sur les sanctions administratives pécuniaires en matière d’agriculture et d’agroalimentaire ont été publiées dans la Partie II de la Gazette du Canada le 16 juillet 2014.

Quelques faits

Cette modification réglementaire permettra aux inspecteurs de l’ACIA d’infliger une SAP en cas de non conformité à 84 dispositions de la Loi sur l’inspection des viandes (LIV) et du Règlement sur l’inspection des viandes (RIV). Ces dispositions portent notamment sur la salubrité des aliments (programmes de contrôle tels que le HACCP) et les exigences non liées à la salubrité des aliments (étiquetage et protection des consommateurs).
Les SAP ne remplacent pas les outils d’inspection et d’application de la loi déjà en place, mais elles offrent à l’Agence un autre moyen de gérer les cas de non-conformité.
L’ajout de la LIV et du RIV dans la portée des SAP va dans le sens d’autres activités menées par l’ACIA, notamment celles énoncées dans le cadre d’application Aliments sains et salubres pour les Canadiens. Ce cadre d’application témoigne des mesures que prend le gouvernement pour prévenir les risques liés à la salubrité des aliments et protéger les Canadiens lorsque des produits non salubres sont disponibles sur le marché.

Citations

Il est d’une importance fondamentale pour tous les Canadiens et leurs familles de savoir que leurs aliments sont sains et salubres. Le gouvernement est déterminé à protéger les consommateurs et prend des mesures afin de renforcer le système d’assurance de la salubrité des aliments du Canada en imposant des sanctions aux entreprises qui ne respectent pas les exigences relatives à la salubrité des viandes.

– Rona Ambrose, ministre de la Santé

Les sanctions administratives pécuniaires sont un outil supplémentaire qui aidera l’ACIA à s’acquitter de son mandat d’assurer la salubrité des aliments. Elles ne remplacent pas les outils existants d’inspection et d’application de la loi, mais elles offrent une plus grande marge de manoeuvre pour gérer les violations touchant les produits de viande.

– Dre Martine Dubuc, chef de la salubrité des aliments du Canada et vice-présidente de la Direction générale des sciences, ACIA