Canadian egg and poultry processors welcome food safety act

Canada’s meat and egg processors have welcomed the introduction of Bill S11, the Safe Food for Canadians Act, which would see the food industry modernised.

“Food safety is the number one priority of Canada’s red meat, poultry and egg processors” stated Canadian Meat Council Executive Director Jim Laws, Canadian Poultry and Egg Processors President and CEO Robin Horel and Further Poultry Processors Association of Canada General Manager Robert DeValk. “We fully support actions to consolidate and modernise CFIA’s suite of food commodity legislation.”

The need to modernise and strengthen food legislation in Canada has long been recognised in government and industry. In July 2009, the independent investigator into the 2008 listeriosis outbreak recommended that government “simplify and modernise federal legislation and regulations which significantly affect food safety”.

Over the coming months, the CFIA plans to engage with Canadians, industry stakeholders and other government departments, including federal partners, through a series of consultations to discuss its regulatory modernization strategy. We will be fully engaged at those consultations” stated Robin Horel.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency currently delivers eight different food inspection programs, each using different inspection methods and tools. The proposed Safe Food for Canadians Act will improve food oversight by instituting a more consistent inspection regime across all food commodities and introduces better controls on imported foods.

Canada’s meat and egg processing industry includes some 400 federally registered establishments, providing not only safe, high quality protein for Canadian consumers, but also adding jobs and making a significant contribution to local economic activity in both rural and urban Canada. With some 67,500 employees and annual sales exceeding $ 21.3 billion, the industry is the largest segment of Canada’s food processing sector.