July 30, 2013

Canada to implement food safety reforms

Canada's agricultural minister, Gerry Ritz, has expressed his confidence and hope that the Canadian Food Inspection Agency will implement strong reforms which can improve domestic food safety and boost the international competitive advantage for the country's agricultural sector.

Last week, as part of an annual meeting in Halifax, Canada's federal, provincial and territorial agriculture ministers have renewed their commitment to the implementation of traceability for cattle, hogs, poultry and sheep, and endorsed the development of a Food Safety Integrated Surveillance Network to link federal, provincial and private food laboratories. They also seek to improve detection and response to food-borne threats and were given an update on food safety modernisation activities under the federal government's Safe Food for Canadians Action Plan.

According to Ritz, the issues of food safety and traceability are mainly based on identifying concerned sites and situational awareness.