Industry guidance on importing meat products falling under section 19 of the Safe Food for Canadians Regulations (SFCR)

This guidance replaces the Meat products imported under waiver policy. For details, please refer to the Industry notice.

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1. Introduction

This guidance applies only to imported meat products from the United States (US) which do not meet Canadian labelling and/or compositional requirements and are intended to be further processed in Canada for export. All finished products prepared from these imported meat products must be exported in their entirety to the US or any other country. Under no circumstance can the meat products imported under this guidance and the meat product made from these imported meat products enter Canadian commerce.

2. Legislative Authority

3. Exceptions for meat products imported under section 19 of SFCR

The meat products imported under section 19 of the SFCR are excepted from meeting certain provisions of the Safe Food for Canadians Act (SFCA) and its Regulations (SFCR). Other acts and regulations, for example the Food and Drugs Act (FDA) and its Regulations (FDR) and the Health of Animals Act (HAA) and its Regulations (HAR) are still applicable to the imported food (meat products).

The meat products imported under section 19 can only be excepted from meeting provisions of the SFCA and the SFCR if two conditions are met:

  • (a) label that bears the expression "Imported for Export" or "importé pour l'exportation" is applied or attached to the food or accompanies it
  • (b) the food is intended to be manufactured, processed, treated, preserved, graded, packaged or labelled for the purpose of exporting it

In order to be exported, the finished product made with the non-compliant meat products must be manufactured, processed, treated, preserved, graded, packaged or labelled by a licence holder and in an establishment eligible for exporting meat products.

4. Requirements to import meat products under section 19 of the SFCR

The meat products must:

  • be labelled with the expression "Imported for Export" or "importé pour l'exportation". The label is applied (such as cartons or combos), attached to the meat products (such as carcasses), or accompanies the meat products (for example meat product shipped in a tanker) – 19(1)(a) of the SFCR

The importer must:

The licence holder who will manufacture, process, treat, preserve, grade, package or label the meat products must:

  • have a valid SFC licence – 7 of the SFCR
  • have preventive control and traceability program that includes measures for segregation to prevent contamination with compliant food – 86(1) and 47 to 90 of the SFCR

5. Process to import meat products under section 19 of the SFCR

Step 1: Obtain CFIA confirmation prior to importing the non-compliant meat products into Canada

The importer must inform the CFIA by submitting a request by email to the area operational specialist (AOS) of the respective area office regarding the intention to import non-compliant meat products to be processed in Canada for the purpose of exporting it.

The email subject line should be:

Request to import non-compliant meat products intended to be processed in Canada and re export – Import under S 19 of the SFCR

In the request to the AOS, the importer must provide the below information:

  • the name, address and establishment number of the US slaughter or processing establishment from which the non-compliant meat products will be imported
  • the name, address and establishment number of the Canadian processing establishment where the imported meat product will be manufactured, processed, treated, preserved, graded, packaged or labelled for the purpose of export
  • the name and description of non-compliant meat products to be imported for further processing and re export
  • details regarding the nature of the non-compliance

The Food Import and Export Division (FIED) will communicate the information to the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) to obtain their agreement to issue an OMIC for the import of the non-compliant meat products. The table below shows the communication channels to obtain CFIA confirmation:

Responsible entity Responsibility
Importer Informs the AOS and provide the above information
AOS Provides the information to FIED
FIED Provides the information to FSIS
FSIS Evaluates the information and provides a response to FIED
FIED Notifies the AOS about FSIS response
AOS Provides a response to the importer
Importer Can begin the import process

Once the importer receives a confirmation from the AOS informing that the FSIS has agreed to CFIA request, the import process can begin.

Note: If a request has already been authorized and any of the information provided in the original request has changed such as the US slaughter or processing establishment, the noncompliant meat product, the Canadian processing establishment, or the nature of the non-compliance, then the importer must present a new request to the AOS.

Step 2: Inform the Canadian processing establishment

The importer, if different from the Canadian processing establishment, must inform the Canadian processing establishment of the import of the noncompliant meat product in the purpose of further processing with the intent of exporting the finished product.

Step 3: Obtain the OMIC

The importer must ensure that the OMIC generated from the US Public Health Information System (PHIS) by the identified US establishment for the specific meat products includes this statement in the "Remarks" section:

The meat product covered by this certificate does not meet Canadian composition and/or labeling requirements. The product is intended to be manufactured, processed, treated, preserved, graded, packaged or labelled for the purpose of exporting it to the United States or any other destination. / Le produit de viande couvert par ce certificat ne répond pas aux exigences canadiennes en matière de composition et/ou d'étiquetage. Le produit de viande est destiné à être fabriqué, transformé, traité, conservé, classifié, emballé ou étiqueté en vue d'être exporté aux États-Unis ou vers tout autre destination.

Any meat products imported with an OMIC that does not contain this statement will be subjected to an import inspection as per standard procedures.

Step 4: Submit the documentation package to the NISC before arrival of the shipment

Once the importer has received the confirmation from the AOS, the importer must submit the import documents to NISC before or at the time of the import as per section 13(2) of the SFCR.

Shipment of meat products imported under the section 19 of the SFCR must be declared to NISC following the same process as any other import of meat products. When declaring the transaction and presenting the import documentation to NISC the end use declared must be "Import for export". Please note that slaughter and processing establishment numbers and animal health statements must be documented on the "Remarks" section of the US OMIC as per standard procedures.

Step 5: Delivering the non-compliant meat products to the Canadian processing establishment

The meat products imported under section 19 of the SFCR and meeting the requirements of this guidance are not subjected to an import inspection as they will not be sold in the Canadian market.

Upon import into Canada, the importer must deliver the non-compliant meat products to the Canadian processing establishment where it will be manufactured, processed, treated, preserved, graded, packaged or labelled for the purpose of export.

The Canadian processing establishment must be the same as the one presented to the AOS in step 1. Under no circumstances can the Canadian processing establishment be different from the one presented in the initial request.

Step 6: Export of the finished meat product prepared from imported meat product

The finished meat product made from the non-compliant meat products imported under section 19 of the SFCR must be exported in its entirety. Under no circumstances can the non-compliant meat products and the finished meat product made from the imported non-compliant meat product enter Canadian commerce.

The finished meat product must be exported to US or to any other country as long as it is meeting the import requirements of the country of destination.

The exporter must present a request to export the finished meat product as per standard export procedures.

It is the responsibility of the importer to ensure that the establishment where the imported meat products will be manufactured, processed, treated, preserved, graded, packaged or labelled:

  • is eligible to export meat products to the country of destination
  • meet the import requirements

Same requirements apply when the exporting establishment is not the Canadian processing establishment (for example, a Canadian storage establishment).

If these requirements are not met, CFIA may refuse to issue an Export Certificate.

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