The legislation provides the authority to certify all food commodities for export, allowing the CFIA to treat exported food commodities consistently.
Ron LemaireRon Lemaire, president of the Canadian Produce Marketing Association, Ottawa, said the new food safety law will update a myriad of food safety statutes implemented over several decades.
The updated law should provide more consistent food safety oversight in Canada, he said.
“It should be seen as a positive,” he said.
Lemaire said Canadian food safety officials are looking more closely at fresh produce safety in their oversight role.
“They have recognized produce as a risk area, and, as an industry, we need to recognize the government is seeing it that way and we need to insure that we have the right tools and programs in place,” he said Nov. 27.
One positive element of the law will be to require a license for every company selling food in Canada, Lemaire said.
Lemaire said it is uncertain how soon CFIA will develop specific regulations to implement the law but said he welcomes the process.
“I think it gives us an opportunity to look at our regulations and modernize them to work in today’s business requirements,” Lemaire said.
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