To decrease the risk associated with E. coli O157:H7 in romaine lettuce, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) is implementing temporary Safe Food for Canadians (SFC) licence conditions for the importation of romaine lettuce originating from the U.S., including salad mixes containing this lettuce.
Canadian Federal News
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency has published the Food Fraud Annual Report 2022 to 2023.
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) is Canada’s leading authority on food fraud oversight. This report shares details on how the CFIA’s actions prevented nearly 140,000 kg of misrepresented food from being sold in Canada.
Food Processing Skills Canada receives a $5.5 million funding commitment from the Government of Canada’s Skills for Success program to launch Skills Training Across Canada. It aims to support 800 frontline workers and 1,500 jobseekers in the food and beverage manufacturing industry, which contributes $35.2 billion to Canada’s GDP.
Our AI accreditation pilot revealed essential insights that are now shaping the development of AI management systems accreditation and certification—find them in our newly published lessons learned report. The report provides key insights from our successful pilot program that tested emerging AI management systems certification requirements. This groundbreaking initiative explores the application of the ISO/IEC 42001 artificial intelligence management system (AIMS) standard and its relationship with the conformity assessment of AI systems.
Canada is deeply committed to the principles of sustainable forest management. We are working with domestic and international partners to support healthy forests for generations to come.
The Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson, Canada’s Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, announced an investment of over $20 million to support initiatives that advance sustainable forest policy and forest stewardship globally. Through Canada’s Global Forest Leadership Program and International Model Forest Network (IMFN), these investments contribute to global climate and biodiversity goals.
The Health Canada Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA) is responsible for pesticide regulation in Canada. The public registry is where you can learn more about all pest control products registered for use in Canada.
- 3-methyl-2-cyclohexen-1-one (PRVD 2024-05) Open Consultation Posted: September 24, 2024
- Triallate (PMRL 2024-19) Open Consultation Posted: September 26, 2024
- Spiromesifen (PMRL 2024-20) Open Consultation Posted: September 26, 2024
Canadian Provincial News
The governments of Canada and Ontario are investing up to $1.5 million over four years to create a more welcoming environment for international agri-food workers (IAWs) who work in Ontario’s $51 billion agri-food sector and provide them with stronger supports during their stay here. These include translation supports, expanding or introducing transportation services, and supporting cultural and recreational activities.
Minister Sigurdson will travel to Mexico to meet agri-businesses, government officials, industry leaders and investors to strengthen relations and expand investment and trade opportunities for Alberta’s agricultural industry. The trade mission will also include meetings with prospective buyers to profile Alberta as a trusted supplier of high-quality agri-food products and support Alberta companies participating in the Food Tech Summit and Expo in Mexico City.
US News
At a tranquil nature reserve in South Michigan, an Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientist and her collaborators connected olden wild bee sample collections and modern technology to decode better the ecological traits and habits of pollinators, critical links to environmental stability.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration updated the Mycotoxins in Domestic and Imported Human Foods Compliance Program to include the monitoring of additional mycotoxins of regulatory interest in human foods, specifically T-2/HT-2 toxins and zearalenone. The updated compliance program also reflects the transition by FDA regulatory laboratories to a multi-mycotoxin method for analysis in human foods, which will allow the agency to obtain results for multiple mycotoxins in a single sample analysis.
The FDA reached a significant milestone when it approved its reorganization and created its new unified Human Foods Program (HFP). It is one of the most significant reorganizations in FDA’s history. The new model for field operations and other significant modernization efforts is only days away, with Oct. 1 set as the implementation date.
The FDA is providing an update about ongoing research efforts it is undertaking to help ensure the safety of dairy products during the outbreak of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza A (H5N1) virus in dairy cattle and to work towards reducing the threat of H5N1 to human and animal health.
International News
The Commission has adopted new measures under the REACH Regulation – the EU chemicals legislation – to protect human health and the environment by restricting the use of undecafluorohexanoic acid (‘PFHxA’) and PFHxA ‑related substances. These sub-groups of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (‘PFAS’) are very persistent and mobile in water, and their use in certain products poses an unacceptable risk to human health and the environment.
No fewer than 45 countries, including the USA, and industry leaders have called for an EUDR delay as the sector rattles towards a deadline many have stressed it is ill-prepared for.
Other Relevant Information
Safety Share
Parents and caregivers! Be cautious when shopping for car seats and booster seats online, especially from third-party sellers. Make sure to choose one that is certified to Canadian safety standards – look for the National Safety Mark.
A new standard for smoke alarms, which went into effect on July 30, requires smoke detectors to be more sensitive to all types of fire and to have fewer nuisance alarms from cooking.
EVENTS
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- Compressed Air Quality Testing – What You Need to Know – FREE Webinar October 11, 2024
Brett Greenlee, the Key Accounts and Sales Manager at Trace Analytics, will lead a discussion covering all the basics of compressed air testing.
GS1 Canada is back with a new series of free education webinars for small business owners. Whether you are new to barcodes or a long-time subscriber, we’ll help you meet trading partners’ requirements with our trusted tools and support.
- The What, How and Why of Risk-Based Allergen Management (vikan.com)-FREE Webinar October 10th, 2024, at 9 a.m. EST
This webinar will discuss food allergen risk assessment vs. risk characterisation, best practices for integrating food allergens into a risk management system, and allergen labelling practices.