Today, in a live YouTube video stream, Canadian health officials announced that final Safe Food for Canadians Regulations have been published.

Ginette Petipas Taylor, Canada’s Minister of Health, and Lawrence MacAulay, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, made the announcement in conjunction with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.

Safe Food for Canadians is a response to the increasing speed, volume, and complexity required to produce today’s food. The new regulations are meant to focus on prevention and allow faster removal of unsafe food from the marketplace. Once in place, Safe Food ffor Canadians will require food businesses that import or prepare food for export or to be sent across provincial or territorial borders to have licences, as well as preventive controls that outline steps to address potential risks to food safety. They will also help reduce the time it takes to remove unsafe food from the marketplace by requiring businesses to trace their food back to their supplier and forward to whom they sold their products.

Safe Food for Canadians will reduce unnecessary administrative burden on businesses by replacing 14 sets of current regulations with one. Canadian health officials also expect better maintenance and market access for Canada’s agri-food and agricultural sector.

Safe Food for Canadians Regulations are set to go into effect January 15, 2019.

You can read the regulations online via Government of Canada's official website.

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