On January 15, 2019, the Safe Food for Canadians Regulations (SFCR) came into force along with the Safe Food for Canadians Act. While some requirements were to be met immediately upon coming into force by some businesses in the fresh fruit and vegetable (FFV) sector, other businesses in this sector have until January 15, 2020 to comply with certain requirements under the SFCR like preventive control plans, preventive controls or traceability.
Businesses may consult the Canadian Food Inspection Agency’s (CFIA) sector-specific timelines to determine if the January 2020 deadline applies to their business. The timeframes for fresh fruit and vegetables can vary based on your business activity and level of trade.
Review CFIA’s guidance and Preventive controls for food – Fresh fruits or vegetables to understand and meet preventive control requirements. These documents provide information on select preventive control practices for operators to mitigate food safety risks associated with the preparation of fresh fruits or vegetables. This information is intended to inform and support the development and implementation of a preventive control plan.
Learn more on Preventive Control Plan (PCP) and how to prepare your PCP and documentation guidance.
For more information on Preventive control for food businesses, here is guidance, fact sheet, application and food-specific preventive controls.
Businesses should start to develop and implement a written preventive control plan or preventive controls such as sanitation and pest control.
Additional tools and resources:
- Preventive control plan interactive tool: Find out if and when you will need a Preventive Control Plan
- Infographic: Key Preventive Food Safety Controls
- Video: Creating a Preventive Control Plan (PCP) under the SFCR
- A guide for preparing a preventive control plan – For domestic food businesses
- A guide for preparing a preventive control plan for importers
- Getting started: Toolkit for food businesses
- SFCR timelines by sector
- The Guidance Finder
- Licensing Interactive tool: Find out if and when you will need a licence
- Traceability interactive tool: Find out what your traceability requirements would be
Consult the CFIA’s guidance finder: food to search for the latest SFCR technical and regulatory information.
For more information on the Safe Food for Canadians Regulations, visit CFIA webpage here.
For inquiries or questions contact the CFIA:
- 1-800-442-2342 (Canada and U.S.)
- 1-613-773-2342 (local or international)
You can also ask the CFIA a question online by filling out the contact form.