Notice to Industry: Changes to import procedures for pet food products from Thailand

Originally published: 2024-10-31

Minor edits: 2025-01-14

Major update: 2025-05-28

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) is updating import requirements for pet food products from Thailand. These changes will help importation to continue more smoothly and prevent delays.

1. New Procedure for the Annex 1 facility questionnaire

  1. The DLD (Thai veterinary authority) will visit each approved exporting Thai facility at minimum once per year and fill out a single Annex 1 which will cover all exports from that facility for a 12-month period, instead of filling out an Annex 1 for every new import permit.
  2. Before a facility adds new animal origin ingredients or imports animal origin ingredients from a new country, they must first get an updated Annex 1 from the DLD. The DLD will send the updated Annex 1 to the CFIA within 30 days of its signature date.
  3. The DLD will ensure the CFIA receives a new Annex 1 before the old one expires to avoid disruption to trade.
  4. There is a bilingual version of the Annex 1 with English and Thai statements for use for imports from Thailand only.

2. New Import Permit Requirements

  1. All import permits for pet food products from all approved facilities will be identical and require the same certification statements to reduce the risk of error.
  2. The zoosanitary statements that will be required for pet food products are as follows:

I, the undersigned Official Veterinarian of the Department of Livestock Development (DLD), after due inquiry and to the best of my knowledge and belief, do hereby certify:

  1. The pet food products in the shipment imported under this import permit were processed strictly at the following approved establishment(s), under the supervision of the competent animal health authority in Thailand.
    *** Insert approved manufacturing facility name and address, name of competent authority, and CFIA Foreign Establishment number here (FE-###) ***
  2. The pet food products imported under this permit have been thermally treated to either (strike out as appropriate):
    • a) reach a minimum F0 value greater than or equal to 3, and are commercially sterile and hermetically sealed, and/or
    • b) at least 90 degrees Celsius core temperature, and/or
    • c) 70 degrees Celsius for 30 minutes
  3. All terrestrial animal origin materials originate from animals that received and passed ante - mortem inspection and were presented for post-mortem inspection in a slaughter facility under the supervision of an official veterinarian of the competent animal health authority in the country of origin.
  4. The manufacturing facility and all suppliers of animal origin ingredients receive, handle and store ruminant ingredients that originate only from Australia and New Zealand. The only exceptions are materials listed in Footnote 1 (which can come from any country), and bovine broth, which can be manufactured in and imported from EU member states with BSE Negligible Risk Status
  5. Where applicable, any legally imported ruminant-derived ingredients (other than those listed in Footnote 1), imported with an official zoosanitary export certificate from the competent animal health authority of the country of origin, were shipped in sealed containers directly from the suppliers to the manufacturing facility in Thailand, or to approved cold storage facilities under the supervision of the competent animal health authority in Thailand.
  6. The pet food products for export to Canada include only the following approved ingredients:
    • Meat (including skin, organs, and mechanically deboned meat) and meat extracts of avians, reptiles, and fish/molluscs/crustaceans, may all originate from any country.
    • Porcine (pig) ingredients originate only from EU member states, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and the United States, except rawhide (pigskin) which may originate from any country.
    • All ruminant ingredients (bovine, ovine, caprine, and cervid), including meat, organs, offal, and blood/plasma, originate from federally registered establishments in Australia and/or New Zealand The only exceptions are materials listed in Footnote 1 (which can come from any country), and bovine bone broth, which can be manufactured in and imported from EU member states with BSE Negligible Risk Status.
    • Rendered avian ingredients (such as meat meal, bone meal, meat-and-bone meal, blood meal, blood cake, feather meal, processed animal proteins, digests, greaves, poultry fat, and spray-dried blood/plasma/eggs) originate from and have been legally imported only from the countries listed in Footnote 2.
    • Hydrolyzed poultry proteins, chicken broth, and chicken solubles (made in facilities that do not handle or process ruminant material) originate from and have been legally imported from EU member states, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, the United States, or originate from Thailand.
    • Fish/mollusc/crustacean meals (including green lipped mussel powders) and other rendered aquatic ingredients originate from countries that have a BSE Negligible Risk Status.
    • Fish oil, eggs and egg products, milk, colostrum, cheese, insect meals, rawhide, collagen,gelatin, glucosamine, chondroitin, and ingredients in Footnote 1 may originate from any country.
  7. At the time of export, the signing veterinarian has reviewed the DLD's most current signed Annex 1, and the following conditions are both true:
    • a) The pet food products and their animal origin ingredients in this shipment are eligible for export to Canada and are listed in the Annex 1
    • b) No new animal origin ingredients have been added to the facility or the pet food products without prior CFIA notification and a new approved Annex 1.
  8. Every precaution was taken to prevent any direct or indirect contact of the products for export with any other animal product or by-product of lesser zoosanitary status during handling, packaging, and transportation.
  9. The manufacturer keeps records of inventory for incoming animal-origin products and by-products received and for finished pet food dispatched.
  10. The pet food is packaged in new packaging

Footnote 1 - these ingredients are not considered to be of ruminant origin, and can originate from any country

  • Rawhide
  • Gelatin derived from bones or hides
  • Collagen
  • Chondroitin sulphate sodium
  • Dicalcium phosphate with no trace of protein or fat
  • Milk and milk products including cheese
  • Vitamin D made from lanolin from sheep's wool
  • Derivatives of any of the above

Footnote 2 - Countries with non-ruminant rendering systems approved by Canada

  • Canada
  • Australia
  • New Zealand
  • France
  • Germany
  • Italy
  • Netherlands
  • Spain
  • United Kingdom
  • United States

We hope this information is helpful to you. There will be a one-year transition period for these changes. If your company imports only retorted (canned, cupped, or pouched) food from Thailand, you can continue to import using your old permit until its expiry date. If you would like to use the new statements, which allow oven-baked and extruded pet food and treats, please apply for a new import permit. Your shipment will be accepted as long as the zoosanitary statements match what is on your import permit.

There is no longer any need to provide product lists when applying for an import permit.

If you have any questions about these changes, please contact the Animal Products and By-Products Import inbox at APABPImport@inspection.gc.ca. For routine inquiries, your local CFIA office continues to be your first point of contact.