Notice to industry: Proposed changes to import requirements for heat-treated pet food products from the United States

Date Published: 2026-09-15

Updated: 2026-11-10

We would like to thank everyone who submitted their feedback to these proposals. See the "More Information" section for answers to some commonly asked questions.

Why changes are needed

The current import requirements include a facility questionnaire that must be signed by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). The questionnaire was developed based on supply chains where ingredients or finished pet food products are heat-treated in Canada or the U.S.

Today, pet food supply chains are more complex. In some cases, ingredients are heat-treated in another country, imported into the U.S., and used in pet food that is then exported to Canada. Importers have reported challenges getting USDA certification for these products under the current requirements.

The CFIA is proposing updates to:

better reflect current global supply chains and manufacturing practices
allow certification of pet food products that contain ingredients from additional animal species, and
use more outcome-based requirements for heat treatment, rather than limiting manufacturers to a small number of specific time and temperature combinations

These proposed changes would provide greater flexibility for industry, while continuing to support Canada's animal health protections.

Proposed changes

The CFIA is proposing to change 2 footnotes in the USDA questionnaire. No other changes are planned, unless requested by industry.

Current requirements

"Processed" includes products where the animal origin ingredients or the finished product have been sufficiently thermally processed to destroy pathogens of concern and the heat processing occurred in the United States or Canada (other than for certain highly processed ingredients as listed below).
Pet food products include pet food, pet treats, compound chews, and pet supplements.
These ingredients are: albumin (including bovine serum albumin), amino acids, animal glue, bone charcoal, bone oil, chondroitin sulphate, collagen, collagen casings, dicalcium phosphate, enzymes of animal origin (for example, rennet, phosphatase, peroxidase), fatty acid, fibrin, gelatin, gelatin capsules, glucosamine, glycerides, glycerol, glycolipids, hormones of animal origin (for example, insulin, adrenocorticotropic hormone), lactic acid, lactose, lactulose, oleostearin, ossein, peptides, peptone, phospholipids, serum substitutes (for laboratory purposes), sorbitan esters, tricalcium phosphate (bone ash), triglycerides, vitamin A made from porcine gelatin and vitamin D made from lanolin from sheep's wool.
Pet chews are non-nutritive animal origin material intended mainly for the activity of chewing. The Canada Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) defines compound pet chews as rawhide products that contain additional animal origin ingredients. Simple pet chews do not require APHIS facility inspection and listing. Examples of simple pet chews include such items as only rawhide, bones, tendons, hooves, horns, ears, pizzles, etc. Addition of flavorings, colorants, and/or preservatives does not cause a simple chew to be classified as compound, unless the additions are animal origin.
CFIA defines a pet supplement as a highly processed nutritional product whose purpose is to provide additional protein, vitamins, minerals, or other products, such as chondroitin sulphate or glucosamine, to pet animals; supplements may be in pill, capsule, powder, or liquid form, and either be added to food or given directly (orally) to the animal.
Animal origin ingredients or finished pet food products must be heat processed at this facility or at another facility in the United States or Canada (other than for certain highly processed ingredients as listed in footnote 3) according to the following parameters:
- Egg: 57°C for 27 min [or 90°C internal temperature]
- Poultry: 65°C for 14 minutes, or 74°C for 5 minutes [or 90°C internal temperature
- Bovine, ovine, caprine, or porcine: 70°C for 30 min, 79°C for 30 seconds, or 90°C internal temperature
- Dairy/fish/other species: no time/temperature requirement but must be heat processed

Proposed updates

Current requirement	Proposed update
1. "Processed" includes products where the animal origin ingredients or the finished product have been sufficiently thermally processed to destroy pathogens of concern and the heat processing occurred in the United States or Canada (other than for certain highly processed ingredients as listed below).	1. "Processed" includes products where the animal origin ingredients or the finished product have been sufficiently thermally processed to destroy pathogens of concern, and the heat processing occurred in the United States, Canada, or a country evaluated and approved by the CFIA for the import of animal products and by-products (other than for certain highly processed ingredients as listed below in Footnote 3).
6. Animal origin ingredients or finished pet food products must be heat processed at this facility or at another facility in the United States or Canada (other than for certain highly processed ingredients as listed in footnote 3) according to the following parameters: Egg: 57°C for 27 min [or 90°C internal temperature] Poultry: 65°C for 14 minutes, or 74°C for 5 minutes [or 90°C internal temperature Bovine, ovine, caprine, or porcine: 70°C for 30 min, 79°C for 30 seconds, or 90°C internal temperature Dairy/fish/other species: no time/temperature requirement but must be heat processed	6. Animal origin ingredients or finished pet food products must be heat processed at this facility or at another facility in the United States, Canada, or a country evaluated and approved by the CFIA for the import of animal products and by-products (other than for certain highly processed ingredients as listed in footnote 3) according to the following parameters: Eggs and non-rendered poultry ingredients: treated to mitigate highly pathogenic avian influenza and Newcastle Disease as per the WOAH Terrestrial Code (TC) Rendered poultry ingredients / processed animal proteins: treated to mitigate highly pathogenic avian influenza and Newcastle Disease as per the TC and, if imported, originating from a country approved by the CFIA for import of rendered non-ruminant materials, per Annex 10 of the Animal Products and By-Products Import Policy Bovine, ovine, caprine, cervid or porcine meat: 70°C for 30 min, 79°C for 30 seconds, or 90°C internal temperature Bovine, ovine, caprine, or cervid rendered ingredients / processed animal proteins: legally imported into the USA from Australia or New Zealand Porcine rendered ingredients / processed animal proteins: treated to mitigate African Swine Fever, Classical Swine Fever, Foot and Mouth Disease, and Swine Vesicular Disease, and, if imported, originating from a country approved by the CFIA for import of rendered non-ruminant materials, per Annex 10 of the Animal Products and By-Products Import Policy Dairy: pasteurized in the United States or Canada or a country evaluated and approved by the CFIA for the import of animal products and by-products Meat of equines, rabbits or other species: no time/temperature requirement, but must be heat treated Fish meal, liquids, and digests or other aquatic rendered ingredients / processed animal proteins: heat treated in the United States, Canada, or a country with a BSE Negligible Risk Status per WOAH, or a country or establishment listed in Annex 10 of the Animal Products and By-Products Import Policy Fish and reptilian meat: no requirements, can originate from any country Insect meals: no requirements, can originate from any country

Current requirement

Proposed update

1. "Processed" includes products where the animal origin ingredients or the finished product have been sufficiently thermally processed to destroy pathogens of concern and the heat processing occurred in the United States or Canada (other than for certain highly processed ingredients as listed below).

1. "Processed" includes products where the animal origin ingredients or the finished product have been sufficiently thermally processed to destroy pathogens of concern, and the heat processing occurred in the United States, Canada, or a country evaluated and approved by the CFIA for the import of animal products and by-products (other than for certain highly processed ingredients as listed below in Footnote 3).

6. Animal origin ingredients or finished pet food products must be heat processed at this facility or at another facility in the United States or Canada (other than for certain highly processed ingredients as listed in footnote 3) according to the following parameters:

Egg: 57°C for 27 min [or 90°C internal temperature]
Poultry: 65°C for 14 minutes, or 74°C for 5 minutes [or 90°C internal temperature
Bovine, ovine, caprine, or porcine: 70°C for 30 min, 79°C for 30 seconds, or 90°C internal temperature
Dairy/fish/other species: no time/temperature requirement but must be heat processed

6. Animal origin ingredients or finished pet food products must be heat processed at this facility or at another facility in the United States, Canada, or a country evaluated and approved by the CFIA for the import of animal products and by-products (other than for certain highly processed ingredients as listed in footnote 3) according to the following parameters:

Eggs and non-rendered poultry ingredients: treated to mitigate highly pathogenic avian influenza and Newcastle Disease as per the WOAH Terrestrial Code (TC)
Rendered poultry ingredients / processed animal proteins: treated to mitigate highly pathogenic avian influenza and Newcastle Disease as per the TC and, if imported, originating from a country approved by the CFIA for import of rendered non-ruminant materials, per Annex 10 of the Animal Products and By-Products Import Policy
Bovine, ovine, caprine, cervid or porcine meat: 70°C for 30 min, 79°C for 30 seconds, or 90°C internal temperature
Bovine, ovine, caprine, or cervid rendered ingredients / processed animal proteins: legally imported into the USA from Australia or New Zealand
Porcine rendered ingredients / processed animal proteins: treated to mitigate African Swine Fever, Classical Swine Fever, Foot and Mouth Disease, and Swine Vesicular Disease, and, if imported, originating from a country approved by the CFIA for import of rendered non-ruminant materials, per Annex 10 of the Animal Products and By-Products Import Policy
Dairy: pasteurized in the United States or Canada or a country evaluated and approved by the CFIA for the import of animal products and by-products
Meat of equines, rabbits or other species: no time/temperature requirement, but must be heat treated
Fish meal, liquids, and digests or other aquatic rendered ingredients / processed animal proteins: heat treated in the United States, Canada, or a country with a BSE Negligible Risk Status per WOAH, or a country or establishment listed in Annex 10 of the Animal Products and By-Products Import Policy
Fish and reptilian meat: no requirements, can originate from any country
Insect meals: no requirements, can originate from any country

More Information

Timeline and transition period

The changes to the thermally processed pet food product package (zoosanitary certificate, audit checklist, and audit questionnaire) still need to be approved and published by both Canada and the United States. An email notification will be sent out when the date of implementation is confirmed. If you did not receive an email notification directing you to this webpage, subscribe to receive information from the CFIA. You will need to confirm the subscription via email before you begin to receive email notifications.

Any multi-shipment 30-day zoosanitary certificates issued prior to the date of implementation will be valid until their expiry date. After the date of implementation, only the updated zoosanitary certificate will be certified by the USDA.

There will be a transition period of two years for facility approvals. Facilities in the United States that have already passed their regularly scheduled USDA audit (with the old package) will not have to take any action if the products are already listed as approved for export. Their next facility renewal will be completed with the updated package automatically.

Facilities with ingredients or time/temperature treatment combinations not permitted by the current package but permitted by the updated package should contact their USDA veterinarian to arrange an audit after the date of implementation, so that their list of approved products can be updated, allowing their product to be imported into Canada.

Which pet food products are affected by these changes

These changes do not apply to Raw or Minimally Heat-Treated pet food products imported from the United States. The changes are being made only to pet food products certified under the Thermally Processed pet food product package, which are:

pet food (extruded or hermetically sealed)
pet treats
compound pet chews
pet supplements

Ingredients no longer permitted under the new package

In rare cases, some ingredients may no longer be approved for use in pet food being imported into Canada. This includes rendered ruminant material from any countries other than Australia or New Zealand, or rendered poultry or porcine material from countries not on this list:

Australia
Canada
France
Germany
Italy
Netherlands
New Zealand
Romania (only for porcine blood products from SC Smithfield Prod. SRL, Polona St. NO4, Timisoara City, Timis County)
Spain
United Kingdom
United States of America

Feedback received during the consultation period did not indicate that any company was using ingredients that would not be permitted under the proposed changes. However, if your facility uses ingredients that will no longer be approved, we urge you to begin sourcing new suppliers now, to avoid a disruption in trade.

Communicating which countries can perform heat treatment

The CFIA keeps the following website updated: Countries evaluated by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency for export of animal products and by-products to Canada. Countries are added to this list only after a multi-year process. When a country is approved, trade may begin shortly afterward, once conditions are published in AIRS.

If a country were to be removed from this list, this would be communicated by email notification. Details for how to deal with impacted shipments would be communicated in the same email notification.

Verification of heat treatments conducted in other countries

Pet food facilities should keep copies of all zoosanitary certification used to import ingredients into the United States in their inspection package, as well as any manufacturer's specification sheets. Having this information on hand at the time of the audit will streamline the process.

Why fish meal is only approved from countries with WOAH Negligible Risk Status, as well as Mauritania, the Faroe Islands, and two establishments in Morocco

This provision reduces the risk of cross-contamination of fish meal with prions of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE), which are not inactivated by heat treatment. Canada's own BSE Negligible Risk Status relies on measures taken to reduce the risk of incursions of prions into livestock feed. The loss of this status would result in millions of dollars in export markets being closed to Canada.

The CFIA relies on WOAH's list of countries with BSE Negligible Risk Status.

For exceptions to this list (Mauritania, the Faroe Islands, and two establishments in Morocco, all of which are listed in Annex 10 of the Animal Products and By-Products Import Policy), the CFIA performed on-site audits to assess their segregation procedures and veterinary oversight before fish meal was permitted to be exported to Canada.

USDA-APHIS validation of time/temperature combinations in the WOAH Terrestrial Code

Facilities should print or save the relevant table(s) in the WOAH Terrestrial Code that they use for their heat treatment(s) and provide them at the time of the audit as part of their inspection package.

This only applies to species and diseases of concern used in each facility's products for export to Canada – for example, a facility does not need to provide evidence for treatment of cervid meat if that facility does not export venison-based products to Canada.

If a facility wishes to use an equivalent treatment that is not explicitly listed in the WOAH Terrestrial Code, they must seek a case-by-case review by the CFIA and USDA, initiated by contacting the veterinary inspector who performs their regular audits. This case-by-case review must be completed outside of the usual 2-year audit cycle, so that the approval has already been granted at the time of the audit, after which time the new treatment can be used. These case-by-case reviews are anticipated to take a minimum of 30 business days. There is no guarantee of a successful outcome, although providing high-quality, peer-reviewed scientific studies will increase the likelihood of success.

Sign up for email notifications

If you didn't receive an email notification directing you to this notice to industry, subscribe to receive information from the CFIA. You will need to confirm the subscription via email before you begin to receive email notifications.