The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) has published the latest National Microbiological Monitoring Program (NMMP) Annual Report for 2023–2024, which reveals a very high proportion of food and environmental samples deemed “satisfactory.”

NMMP is a food surveillance program managed by the CFIA to support verification of industry compliance with food safety standards, provide information on the effectiveness of food safety control measures and interventions, facilitate access of Canadian food products to international markets, and maintain consumer confidence in the safety of the food supply. Under NMMP, a broad range of domestic and imported food products are sampled by CFIA inspectors. These food products are frequently sampled at Safe Food for Canadians (SFC) license holding establishments (i.e., those that produce food products that are exported or traded inter-provincially or those that import food products), but samples may also be collected at other establishment types, such as warehouses, distribution centers, and wholesalers.

During the 2023–2024 sampling year, which ranged from April 1, 2023–March 31, 2024, commodities tested under NMMP included: red meat and poultry products, egg products, dairy products, fresh fruits and vegetables, processed fruit and vegetable products, and fish and seafood products. Known food-hazard combinations (i.e., microorganisms and foods that are historically associated and present a food safety concern) and historical levels of compliance were taken into consideration when selecting foods for testing under NMMP monitoring sampling plans. Environmental sampling was also performed at SFC license holding establishments to support CFIA verification that domestic producers were able to control the presence of pathogens within the processing environments and that domestic food products were produced under sanitary conditions. All product and environmental samples collected under the NMMP were tested at CFIA laboratories.

Unsatisfactory samples were subject to follow-up actions by both industry and the CFIA, such as inspections, additional sampling, product disposal, corrective action requests, food safety investigations, product recalls, and other actions.

In the 2023–2024 sampling year, a total of 13,135 tests were performed on 5,484 domestic and imported food products. Specifically, 9,161 tests were performed on 4,159 domestic products and 3,974 tests were performed on 1,325 imported products. Results indicated that domestic products were 98.8 percent satisfactory and imported products were 99.1 percent satisfactory. Overall, a 98.9 percent satisfactory rate was observed for combined domestic and imported products.

Additionally, 1,793 tests were performed on 1,509 environmental samples, which were deemed 97.1 percent satisfactory.

The few non-compliant samples that were detected resulted in follow-up actions by CFIA and industry.