The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) has opened a public consultation on the review of the Safe Food for Canadians Act (SFCA). The consultation is open until May 27, 2024.

SFCA came fully into force on January 15, 2019. The legislation requires Canadian ministers to review the provisions and operations of SFCA every five years. CFIA is seeking comments from consumer groups, food industry and industry associations, manufacturers/processors, distributors/retailers, importers, trading partners, academia and experts, other government departments and agencies, and the general public. CFIA is requesting information to help determine if SFCA meets its objectives of:

• Improving food safety and consumer protection oversight across all food commodities
• Having effective, streamlined, and strengthened legislative authorities across food commodities
• Enhancing market access opportunities for the Canadian food industry.

Questions are included within the consultation document that ask a series of key questions to solicit stakeholder feedback. The goal is to assess if improvements or changes are required to the provisions and operations of SFCA. The consultation review does not include examining specific provisions of the regulations.