HACCP

November 24, 2004
Ontario Farmer
Jim Romahn

MISSISSAUGA - The Canadian Food Inspection Agency is, according to this story, watering down its food safety programs. Instead of monthly audits for plants in the highest-risk category, the audits will be quarterly. Meat and poultry slaughter plants are in that
category.

Those in the second category will be audited once every six months and those in the lowest-risk category, such as warehouses, will be audited once a year.

Tom Graham, CFIA's national HACCP (Hazard Analysis Critical Controls Points) program co-ordinator, was cited as telling the annual meeting of the Ontario Food Protection Association here recently that no plants will lose their licences if the Canadian Food Inspection Agency fails to conduct timely audits.

The story says that HACCP is still voluntary for Canadian plants, but compulsory in the U.S., so any plant exporting to the U.S. must meet U.S. Department of Agriculture standards.

HACCP will become compulsory, but the agency will phase that in, beginning next year, Graham said. Fish plants will be first.

The CFIA is also moving towards a single standard and manual for all food-processing plants, Graham said. There are four now, reflecting the separate standards that evolved in the past for dairy, meat, fruit and vegetable, egg, honey and maple syrup.

There will still be differences suited to each of the commodities, Graham said, but there will be a single set of HACCP principles.

The CFIA has been constantly working on upgrading meat inspection since the mid-1970s when the news media began reporting about packing plants that were flunking U.S. audits to determine if the plants were complying with Canadian regulations and standards.

At the time, a senior official said the meat inspection ought to change from over-the-shoulder scrutiny by government officials to holding the companies responsible for meeting standards. The government would audit compliance. That's what the CFIA now intends to implement with the transition beginning next year, Graham said. He said the goal is to move away from traditional inspection towards a role of oversight.

When HACCP becomes compulstory, it will be rolled into the existing compulsory standards, regulations and procedures.

The CFIA has certified more than 2,000 food-processing plants. There are three stages in HACCP certification, beginning with a paperwork check, then an on-site inspection, then final approval.

Graham said 416 meat-packing plants, 52 dairy-processing plants, four egg-processing plants and 41 plants processing fruits and vegetables have completed the first stage.

He said the CFIA began to "streamline the process" a year ago. Cutting back on the frequency of audits is part of that streamlining.