December 21, 2018

Safe Food for Canadians Regulations Effective January 15, 2019

The following information was compiled with the assistance of the Canadian Produce Marketing Association (CPMA):  

On January 15, 2019, parts of the Safe Food for Canadians Regulations (SFCR) will come into effect. Full implementation of the regulations will take place over the next two years. Overall, for the majority of Western Growers’ members it will be “business as usual” with minimal impact. However, those shipper members who are requested by their customer to act as a Non-Resident Importer (NRI) to Canada will have to meet additional requirements.

The SFCR allows applications from NRIs based in countries with whom Canada has a Food Safety Systems Recognition Arrangement. The United States is a country with equivalent food safety systems to Canada.  In the capacity of an NRI, you act as both the exporter and importer to Canada. The shipper/exporter, who is an NRI, will take on all of the responsibilities under the SFCR, including becoming licensed as an importer. Licensing is done via a My CFIA account, and the licensing tool is now available through the My CFIA home page. In addition to having a SFCR license, membership in the Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Dispute Resolution Corporation (DRC) is now mandatory for Canadian companies and those seeking to become an NRI. DRC membership for all other companies is recommended, but not mandatory, to trade with Canada.

Looking for further support when exporting into Canada? The Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA) has a list of CBSA Licensed Customs Brokers on their web page.

For more SFCR information, please utilize the resources below:

Please note that the CFIA has agreed to extend the compliance period for implementing the new fruit and vegetable labeling requirement to January 15, 2020. For more information contact Matt McInerney at (949) 885-2263