The Canadian Food Inspection Agency delivers 7 measures to cut red tape and support Canada's agricultural sector

The Government of Canada is committed to taking decisive action to strengthen Canada’s economy and global competitiveness. Today, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) is delivering on this commitment through a suite of regulatory changes aimed at reducing red tape and supporting economic resiliency for Canada’s agricultural sector.

These regulatory changes were committed to as part of CFIA’s Progress Report on Red Tape Reduction. They include changes to the Health of Animals Regulations and the Safe Food for Canadians Regulations:

Removing overly prescriptive requirements

• removing prescriptive labelling requirements for fresh fruits and vegetables
• reducing traceability labelling requirements for hatching eggs and chicks to align with current industry practices
• removing mandatory grading requirements for all produce intended for further processing, manufacturing, or preserving

Increasing flexibility and working faster

• updating import requirements to give veal producers move flexibility to optimize the value of their products
• having certain fresh fruits and vegetables grade standards managed by the Fruit and Vegetable Dispute Resolution Corporation. This means these standards can be changed more quickly to meet the needs of the industry and encourage innovation and competition
• making it easier and faster to update animal import rules to align with international standards or new science

Leveling the playing field for the Canadian agriculture and agri-food sector

• changing the rules for importing hatching eggs from the U.S. to a licensed Canadian hatchery so that they now require testing for Salmonella Enteritidis. This change matches domestic requirements and makes things fair for Canadian businesses

These amendments demonstrate the CFIA’s continued commitment to review its regulations and remove unnecessary burden and red tape, while continuing to uphold the high standards that Canadians expect from our food and agricultural systems. The CFIA will continue working closely with provinces, territories, and industry leaders to deliver results that matter.