Exporting food (non-meat): process for point-of-entry violations

Introduction

This document provides guidance to exporters and establishments responsible for export of non-meat food commodities when they are notified by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) that a Foreign Competent Authority (FCA) has issued a Point-of-Entry Violation (POEV), which is a non-compliance identified by a foreign competent authority for a food product which has been exported from Canada.

In addition to preventive controls required under the Safe Food for Canadians Regulations (SFCR), exporters and establishments are also required to develop and implement export controls which ensure that they meet the conditions of the importing country. Exporters must be able to demonstrate to CFIA that they have developed and implemented effective export controls to ensure product compliance with importing country conditions.

CFIA posts all known importing country requirements in the Food Export Requirements Library. However, many countries' import conditions for food are not known by CFIA and exporters are advised to work closely with their importers to ensure compliance with importing country requirements.

FCAs issue POEVs for imported food products based on non-compliance with their requirements. Reasons for non-compliance of food shipments with importing country requirements may include:

identification of a food safety risk
identification that the product has been compromised during handling, storage or transport, which could affect its food safety risk
identification of a non-food safety risk, for example:
- identification that the product has been misrepresented or is fraudulently labelled
- identification that the product has failed to meet non-food safety requirements of the importing country (for example, grade, packaging, labelling or animal health requirements)
- identification of a problem with the export certificate or other export documentation

CFIA is notified of the POEVs by FCAs usually by email or letter.

Scope

This guidance only applies to instances where a FCA communicates a food non-compliance directly to the CFIA and requests CFIA to follow-up and respond.

CFIA follow-up with Canadian exporters and establishments

Once a POEV is received and reviewed by CFIA, the POEV will be forwarded to the local CFIA office for action.

A copy of the POEV will be provided to the exporter or establishment by the local CFIA office. The information provided in the POEV may include:

the name and contact information of the exporter/establishment
type of food product
information identifying the specific shipment
type of the non-compliance
supporting information (for example, sample test results, pictures, foreign inspection report)
immediate actions taken by the FCA on the shipment (for example, held/detained, refused entry, destroyed, suspension/delisting of establishment from a foreign eligibility list, suspension of imports from the Canadian exporter/establishment)
if applicable, specific information requested by the FCA
if applicable, the FCA's requested timeline for receipt of CFIA's response

CFIA Operations Branch responsibilities

CFIA inspection staff will review the information and determine if the POEV is a non-compliance under the SFCR. Where there is both a non-compliance with importing country requirements and a suspected non-compliance with the SFCR, CFIA may initiate regulatory follow-up inspection activities. When a POEV (that is, a non-compliance with importing country requirements) does not represent a violation of the SFCR, CFIA may initiate non-regulatory follow-up inspection activities, which may involve the exporter/establishment implementing specific export controls requested by the FCA and/or export controls under their Export Control Plan (ECP). This is meant to ensure that the non-compliance which led to the POEV being issued is prevented for future exports.

CFIA follow-up activities to ensure compliance of food exports may include:

on-site inspection activities
compliance actions, including product recall if warranted
review of export controls

Exporter/establishment responsibilities

At the request of CFIA inspection staff, exporters/establishments are responsible to review, assess, and respond to all aspects of the POEV related to non-compliance with the importing country requirements and, as applicable, with the SFCR.

A written exporter/establishment response may be requested by CFIA Operations and/or the FCA and may include:

determination of the root cause of the non-compliance and development of a corrective action plan
actions taken by the exporter/establishment to correct the cause(s) of the non-compliance and to prevent reoccurrence
export controls implemented by the exporter/establishment to ensure that only compliant products will be exported

Note: Depending on the timeframe requested by the FCA for a CFIA response, the exporter/establishment may not have fully implemented their export controls by the date a response is required by the FCA. If the requested timeline cannot be met, the exporter/establishment may choose to develop and provide an interim response which CFIA may provide to the FCA as an update.

Potential consequences of repeated non-compliance

Exporters should note that repeated POE violations or failure to develop and implement effective export controls may result in actions by the FCA and/or CFIA to restrict the export of some or all food product until the non-compliance has been adequately addressed. These actions may include:

additional export shipments refused or rejected by the FCA
mandatory monitoring measures imposed by the FCA for future shipments (for example, hold and test of products upon arrival)
prohibition of exports imposed by the FCA
suspension or cancellation of the establishment from a foreign export eligibility list
mandatory establishment inspections or audit or other proof of compliance required by the FCA in order to regain market access
inability of CFIA to issue export certification until acceptable preventive controls under SFCR and/or effective export controls are in place

CFIA response to Foreign Competent Authority (FCA)

The final response from CFIA to the FCA may include a response from the exporter/establishment, a description of CFIA follow-up, and exporter/establishment actions to prevent future non-compliances as verified by CFIA. The exporter will be notified of any follow-up response from the FCA which requires additional action or follow-up by CFIA inspection staff.

References

Food Export Control Policy – Canadian Food Inspection Agency (canada.ca)

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