The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) has announced proposed updates to the import requirements for commercial shipments of heat-treated pet food products originating from the United States.
The proposed changes are designed to provide greater operational flexibility for pet food manufacturers and importers, streamlining the certification process while maintaining Canada’s robust animal health protections.
Proposed Changes at a Glance:
- Expanded Country of Origin: The most significant change allows for heat treatment of animal origin ingredients or finished pet food products to occur not only in the U.S. or Canada, but also in “a country evaluated and approved by the CFIA for the import of animal products and by-products.”
- Greater Species Flexibility: The updates will permit the certification of pet food products containing ingredients from a wider array of animal species.
- Outcome-Based Heat Treatment: Requirements will shift towards more outcome-based standards for heat treatment, offering manufacturers increased flexibility beyond a limited number of specific time and temperature combinations.
- Specific Updates to Footnote 6: Detailed new parameters are outlined for various ingredient types, including eggs, poultry, bovine, ovine, caprine, cervid, porcine, dairy, equine, rabbit, fish, and insect meals, in many cases recognizing international standards (e.g., WOAH Terrestrial Code) and approved countries.
Importers wishing to provide feedback can submit their comments to [email protected] by October 15, 2026.
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