Food and Beverage

Food Safety Hazards Considerations for Plant-Based Meat Alternatives The shift in consumer appetite to plant-based proteins, or meat alternatives, continues to grow in popularity as an alternative to animal-based proteins. The reasons for doing so range from meeting personal health goals (i.e., cholesterol reduction), ensuring humane treatment for animals, reducing the impact of global warming to meeting food supply requirements for an ever-increasing world population. Even with increasing consumer adoption and grocery stores dedicating more and more shelf space to this new category of products, knowledge of potential food safety hazards still remains limited. Even so, companies take [...]

Why a customized Preventive Control Plan for your food business is worth the investment No food business can afford to have a product safety concerns in the marketplace. Costs can come in the form of financial penalties and loss of market reputation, or imprisonment depending on the severity and toll that the safety concern presents to human health and life. Preventive Control Plans (PCPs) can help prevent food safety risks. PCPs are written systems that explain how your food safety compliance management practices meets Safe Food for Canadians Regulations (SFCR) requirements. Aside from being a Canadian Food [...]

Complaint Handling SOPs for Non-Resident Food Importers into Canada How food consumer complaints are managed is an important component of a Preventive Control Plan (PCP) and the Complaints Handling SOP is one of the major components of compliance evidence in a PCP that the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) expects. This SOP is a requirement for Canadian-based food manufacturers/exporters, domestic importers, and Qualified Non-Resident Importers (NRIs). To make a complaint, consumers can contact food companies physically based in Canada directly. For NRIs it is a little bit different. The CFIA defines NRIs as foreign-based food companies that [...]

This past summer the CFIA released a report on feedback received from an online open survey to stakeholders and consumers regarding what labelling information is important to them for plant-based and simulated meat products. Once relegated to the confines of health food stores and farmers markets, plant-based and simulated meat substitutes are finding their way into mainstream channels.  Their rising popularity is driven mainly by consumer focus on health and concerns with the impact that traditional meat products are having on the environment. In light of these shifting consumer preferences, industry and government agencies both in Canada and [...]

Spices, dried culinary herbs, edible seeds are important food commodities the world over and relied on to add flavour and zest to food during preparation. Spices, dried culinary herbs, edible seeds are important food commodities the world over and relied upon to add flavour and zest during food preparation. Studies have shown that microbial levels on these dry (low-moisture) food matrices are often exceedingly high. In spices for example, Salmonella, Bacillus spp. (including Bacillus cereus), Clostridium perfringens, Staphylococcus aureus, Shigella and Cronobacter spp. are among the main pathogens, with Salmonella triggering recalls most often. Pathogens can have a prolonged existence in foods and [...]

As per Safe Food for Canadians Regulations [SFCR], it is the responsibility of the SFC license applicants to develop, implement, and maintain Preventive Controls (PC’s), Preventive Control Plan (PCP), and Traceability Procedure (when applicable to operations and their products), complaints procedures etc. prior to be eligible for obtaining the License. CFIA makes this requirement very clear during the online application process for applicants to declare whether they have a “Written Preventive Control Plan” in place; and only by answering “Yes” to this question, the application can be submitted. While applicants may not be subjected to inspection immediately after [...]

Honey has deep roots across many cultures and traditions with significant health benefits due to its inherent nutritive properties. Honey, a viscous golden liquid, is often labelled as nectar in many folklores. It is a most appreciated and valued natural product since ancient times. Honey is produced by bees, which collect the nectar and pollens from the hearts of flower. The import and export of honey has been on the rise for many years now. With this gaining popularity is also an increase in instances of adulteration such as the deliberate addition of sugars or other cheap sweeteners. [...]

Canadian Food Inspection Agency [CFIA] protects consumers by safeguarding Canada’s food supply. One of the tools that the agency uses is targeted sampling and testing to detect food safety risks. It helps monitor the levels of chemical and microbiological hazards in the food supply chain and subsequently develop risk management strategies to minimize risks to Canadians. During 2018-2019, the agency collected samples and tested for the presence of and levels of mycotoxins in many food products such as corn products, crackers, other grain (non-staple) products, pasta, and gluten-free products. Mycotoxins are secondary metabolites produced by certain fungi [moulds], which [...]

2021 is an important year for Canadian food importers and exporters as enforcement of Preventive Control Plans (PCP), Preventive Controls (PC), and Traceability requirements go into full swing later this year. Even though enforcement began gradually in 2019, food companies were afforded a grace period of over two years to become fully compliant. In short, regulators require Canadian food importers and exporters to have the PCP, PC, and Traceability to qualify for, and obtain the SFC license. A serious challenge currently facing companies is holding a Safe Food for Canadians (SFC) license without a proper or in some cases [...]

Food and Drug Regulations were amended on December 14, 2016 to include better nutritional labelling, ingredients listing of the prepackaged food products. These changes were made to support Health Canada’s Healthy Eating Strategy initiative by making the labels more simplified and easier to read at the point of purchase (Figure 1 below). The 5-year transition period ends December 14, 2021, however with the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic and resulting restrictions, timelines have shifted as well additional flexibilities are being provided to support the industry. Figure 1: Original and New Nutrition Facts Table Format Source: https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/food-labelling-changes.html Highlights of [...]