Regulatory requirements and licence conditions related to pistachios originating from Iran that were imported in Canada before September 27, 2025

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Introduction

Since July 2025, numerous pistachio products originating from Iran were recalled in Canada due to Salmonella contamination.

An outbreak investigation is ongoing, led by the Public Health Agency of Canada, with multiple laboratory-confirmed cases of Salmonella infections reported. Numerous food recall notifications have been issued, all linked to pistachios originating from Iran and products made with Iranian pistachios.

On September 27, 2025, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) implemented a temporary import restriction and licence conditions for importers of pistachios and pistachio products to prevent the release for distribution of contaminated products originating from the Islamic Republic of Iran (Iran).

Despite these measures, salmonellosis illnesses linked to pistachios and pistachio products from Iran continue to occur.

The CFIA is taking additional steps to manage the risks associated with Iranian pistachios that were imported into Canada before September 27 and remain in the domestic supply chain.

Effective immediately and until further notice, the CFIA is introducing additional licence conditions for any business that holds a SFC licence to:

  • import
  • manufacture
  • process
  • treat
  • preserve
  • store
  • grade
  • package
  • or label pistachios and pistachio products

These conditions are:

SFC licence to import:

  • If you have imported pistachio or pistachio products in the past 2 years (September 27, 2023, to September 27, 2025), submit an attestation to the CFIA, as outlined in Attestation for SFC Licenced importers, to describe all pistachios and pistachio products originating from Iran currently in your possession, care or control, by no later than December 10, 2025. If these products were imported within the past 2 years but none remain under your possession, care or control, the attestation form must still be completed and returned to the CFIA by the specified deadline.

SFC licence to import and/or, manufacture, process, treat, preserve, store, grade, package or label:

  • For pistachios originating from Iran and pistachio products made with Iranian pistachios that are that are under your possession, care or control; implement a hold, sample and test, of these products, for the presence of Salmonella. This must be done prior to any further release (for further sale or distribution within Canada) and in accordance with the updated Sampling and hold-and-test procedures described below. Products may only be released if the test result is "not detected" (negative) for Salmonella spp. If testing is not performed, the products must be destroyed or removed from Canada.

  • Products imported into Canada before September 27 that have already undergone testing in Canada and were released for distribution based on the absence of Salmonella are not required to be tested again.

    Exceptions:

    The following products are not eligible for hold-and-test and must be destroyed or removed from Canada:

    • products that include pistachios originating from any of the Iranian companies listed in the List of Iranian companies implicated in recent Salmonella contamination incidents, notified to you through your email address associated with your MyCFIA account
    • products for which the originating Iranian company is unknown or cannot be verified
    • products for which the country of origin is unknown or cannot be verified

    The outbreak investigation has implicated products from these companies. Because the root cause of contamination has not been identified, the risk cannot be reliably controlled or reduced through lot testing.

    Record-keeping

    • Licence holders must keep certificate(s) of analysis (CoA) for all tested products to demonstrate that each lot complies with this SFC licence condition.
    • Licence holders must also keep records of the proof of origin for pistachios and pistachio products to confirm that products subject to the hold-and-test requirement are eligible for testing.

Regulatory requirements

The licence conditions outlined herein apply to all licence holders importing, manufacturing, processing, treating, preserving, grading, packaging or labelling pistachios originating from Iran and imported into Canada before September 27, 2025.

Any person who sends or conveys food from one province to another, or imports food, in disregard of the requirements set out in the present document, is in contravention of the Safe Food for Canadians Act (SFCA) and the Safe Food for Canadian Regulations (SFCR), including subsections 10(3) and 20(4) of the SFCA, and paragraph 8(1)(a) of the SFCR.

Furthermore, subsection 4(1) of the Food and Drugs Act (FDA) states:

"No person shall sell an article of food that […](b) is unfit for human consumption or (e) was manufactured, prepared, preserved, packaged or stored under unsanitary conditions."

Pursuant to section 47 of the SFCR, licence holders are responsible for analyzing the risk to human health associated with these foods and for having control measures to prevent, eliminate or reduce that hazard. In accordance with sections 86, 88 and 89(1)(c) of the SFCR, licence holders must include, but are not limited to including, the detailed procedures to prevent or eliminate or reduce that hazard in their preventive control plan (PCP). For example, you must identify the presence of Salmonella in pistachios and pistachio products from Iran as a hazard and implement controls to mitigate it.

SFC licence conditions

To mitigate the risk of Salmonella in pistachio and pistachio products of Iranian origin, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) is implementing new SFC licence conditions for licence holders who import, manufacture, process, treat, preserve, grade, package or label pistachios and pistachio products in Canada.

SFC licence to import:

Attestation for SFC Licenced importers

  • Licence holders (importers) must identify all pistachios originating from Iran that are under your possession, care or control and were imported into Canada before September 27.
  • If Licence holders (importers) have imported pistachios or pistachio products from Iran in the past 2 years (September 27, 2023, to September 27, 2025), Licence holders (importers) must provide information on these pistachio and pistachio products to the CFIA by December 10, 2025 as outlined in Appendix I: Importer Attestation. If these products were imported within the past 2 years but none remain in your possession, care and control, the attestation form must still be completed and returned to the CFIA by the specified deadline.

SFC licence to import and/or, manufacture, process, treat, preserve, store, grade, package or label:

Sampling and hold-and-test procedure

Products that are ineligible for sample, hold and test procedure

Any products containing pistachios originating from companies listed in the List of Iranian companies implicated in recent Salmonella contamination incidents, notified to you through your email address associated with your MyCFIA account, are not eligible for this hold-and-test requirement and must be either destroyed or removed from Canada.

Any products containing pistachios for which the originating Iranian company has not been or cannot be identified.

Products that are eligible for sample, hold and test procedure

Prior to any further release of pistachios or pistachios products of Iranian origin, SFC licence holders must sample, hold, and test each lot of pistachios and pistachio products under your possession, care or control in accordance with the following requirements:

  1. each lot of imported pistachio and pistachio products (sampling lot) is held, sampled and tested for the presence/absence of Salmonella spp. The sampling must be conducted according to the sampling and testing conditions outlined in points b, c, d, e, f and g
  2. a sampling lot refers to a group of pistachios or pistachio products that:
    • have been grown, harvested, and packaged under the same conditions,
      or
    • in the case of pistachio products, have been manufactured, prepared, produced, stored, packaged, or labelled under the same conditions,
      and
    • bear the same lot code assigned by the foreign producer or exporter.
  3. the sample units are to be collected aseptically and be representative of the lot being tested. For each sampling lot, the minimum sampling and testing requirement is 60 individual random sample units of at least 100 g each.
  4. testing is to be performed in a laboratory accredited by the Standards Council of Canada (SCC), or the Canadian Association for Laboratory Accreditation (CALA).
  5. samples must be analysed by MFHPB-20 from the Compendium of Analytical Methods (Health Canada, 2021) using a protocol applicable to the matrix and sample size as indicated in the method. This method must be included in the laboratory's scope of accreditation.
  6. a total of 25g will be aseptically sampled from each of the 60 individual 100g sub-samples (totaling 1,500 g) for analysis. Analytical units may be composited (pooled) to a maximum of 325g per enrichment.
  7. each sampling lot is kept on hold pending results of analysis for Salmonella spp. The lot is not to be released unless the result of analysis is "not detected" (negative) for Salmonella spp. If Salmonella spp. is not detected in a sampling lot, pistachios and pistachio products can be released.
  8. the licence holder is to document the written procedure describing how the sampling and testing requirements outlined above are being implemented including evidence to confirm the identity and accreditation status of the laboratory.
  9. the licence holder is to keep certificate of analysis (CoA) for the products tested to demonstrate that each lot complies with the SFC licence conditions.

If the results of analysis detect the presence of Salmonella spp. in a sampling lot, the licence holder has a legal responsibility to notify the CFIA as per section 82 of the SFCR and determine the scope of product implicated by the positive result (refer to "Actions to be taken when Salmonella spp. is detected in pistachio (or pistachio products)". Re-testing of the lot is not acceptable.

Note: Testing cannot conclusively rule out the presence of Salmonella given the sporadic nature of contamination. As such, product released under the hold-and-test procedure outlined herein is still subject to potential product action based on other test results or epidemiological assessments as outlined in section "Actions to be taken when Salmonella spp. is detected in pistachio (or pistachio products)".

Guidance on the SFC licence conditions

Scope

The SFC licence conditions apply to all pistachios and pistachio products originating from Iran that are pre-packaged for consumers or in bulk.

Lot and sampling considerations

A sampling lot refers to a group of pistachios or pistachio products that:

  • have been grown, harvested, and packaged under the same conditions,
    or
  • in the case of pistachio products, have been manufactured, prepared, produced, stored, packaged, or labelled under the same conditions,
    and
  • bear the same lot code assigned by the foreign producer or exporter.

A sampling lot may only have one lot code. There may be more than one sampling lot in one delivery of pistachios and pistachio products.

Although the term "lot code" is not specifically defined in the SFCA nor in the SFCR, in general terms, "lot code" when used in Part 5 – Traceability of the SFCR refers to a code that can be used to identify a lot that was manufactured, prepared, produced, stored, graded, packaged or labelled, under the same conditions.

Certificate of analysis

Keep the Certificate of Analysis (CoA) for all tested products on file to show that each lot meets the conditions of the SFC licence.

The CoA should include:

  • the name and address of the laboratory
  • the date the results were reported

The information provided is to be sufficient to confirm the identity and accreditation status of the laboratory.

The CoA must also describe:

  • the client
  • the product sampled
  • sampling details:
    • sample size
    • lot number(s) sampled
    • lab sample identification
  • method used
  • results of analysis

Sampling

The sample units are to be collected aseptically and be representative of the lot being tested.

MFHPB-20 method can be found in the Compendium of Analytical Methods (Health Canada, 2021).

Examples of appropriate sampling

Sampling lots:

  • example 1: an inventory of 2,000 kilogram containing 4,000 cartons of pre-packaged pistachios (or pistachio products) in 250 g packages and 2,000 cartons of pistachios (or pistachio products) in 500 g packages bearing 2 different lot codes.
    • This inventory should be considered 2 sampling lots. 1 sampling lot is 4,000 cartons of 250 g pre-packages, and the other sampling lot is 2,000 cartons of 500 g pre-packages
  • example 2: an inventory of pistachios in bulk with a weight of 5,000 kilograms. This inventory will be re-packaged by the importer in Canada.
    • this inventory could be considered 1 sampling lot (if within the description of a "lot" described in SFC licence conditions)
    • bulk product is to be sampled and tested prior to re-packaging

All packages, cases or containers in the sampling lot are to be equally represented in the sample. For example:

  • an inventory of 10,000 cartons is to have no more than 1 package taken from a carton
  • the 60 cartons sampled is to be selected from various parts of the shipment

Records

Licence holders are to keep a copy of the document/records required as per the conditions of the CFIA.

Actions to be taken when Salmonella spp. is detected in pistachio (or pistachio products)

The following section outlines the licence holder's responsibilities and the factors to consider when the presence of Salmonella spp. is detected in pistachios and pistachio products.

Notification as per section 82 SFCR and following measures

As required by section 82 of the SFCR, SFC licence holders are required to immediately initiate an investigation if they suspect that the food presents a risk of injury to human health or does not meet the requirements of the SFCA or SFCR. If the investigation determines that there is a risk of injury to human health (for example, if the investigation indicates that contaminated pistachios or pistachio products left the control of the SFC licence holder and are in distribution), the SFC licence holder must immediately inform the CFIA and take action to mitigate the risk, including conducting a food recall, as appropriate (SFCR 82 to 85).

Upon receipt of a positive test result for Salmonella spp., a licence holder must immediately segregate the implicated products and ensure they will not be released. The licence holder should determine the scope of product implicated by the positive result. Consider:

  1. the lot(s) of product(s) that tested positive
  2. how the lot(s) were defined
  3. whether any other product(s) or lot(s) may represent the same risk based on factors such as:
    • source of pistachios or pistachio products
    • time of production
    • production or transportation conditions
    • product re-packing
    • if product manufactured with this ingredient could be affected (note: to date, no heat treatment has been recognized by the CFIA as effective in controlling the risk of Salmonella in pistachio and pistachio products)
  4. whether the results are indicative of the condition of one lot only or if they may indicate systemic or recurrent contamination (for example, multiple positive results in pistachios or pistachio products coming from the same supplier or manufacturer)

Options relating to contaminated products

Products contaminated with Salmonella must not be released. The licence holder may voluntarily choose to destroy the contaminated products. Should the licence holder wish to return the contaminated products to the country of origin, contact your local CFIA office for more details.

If the licence holder chooses to destroy the products, the licence holder is to notify the CFIA of their proposed product disposition method and be able to demonstrate that the destruction will not introduce any risk of contamination to the environment, animal and/or animal food sources or cause injury to human, plant or animal health.

If appropriate action is not taken, the CFIA may take enforcement actions such as the seizure of the contaminated products (SFCA s. 25) or order the importer or owner of the product to remove or destroy the products (SFCA s. 32).

Legislative authority

The SFC licence conditions are added pursuant to the following legislative authority.

Subsection 20(3) of SFCA states: "The Minister may make a registration or licence subject to any additional conditions that the Minister considers appropriate."

Subsection 20(4) of the SFCA states: "The holder of the registration or licence must comply with all the conditions to which the registration or licence is subject."

Section 8 of the SFCR, section 4 of the SFCA, and section 4 of the FDA.

Subsection 8(1) of the SFCR states:

"Any food that is sent or conveyed from one province to another or that is imported or exported

  • (a) must not be contaminated
  • (b) must be edible
  • (c) must not consist in whole or in part of any filthy, putrid, disgusting, rotten, decomposed or diseased animal or vegetable substance; and
  • (d) must have been manufactured, prepared, stored, packaged and labelled under sanitary conditions"

Section 4 of the SFCA states:

"It is prohibited for a person to import a food commodity the selling of which is prohibited under section 4 of the Food and Drugs Act."

Subsection 4(1) of FDA states:

"No person shall sell an article of food that:

  • (a) has in or on it any poisonous or harmful substance
  • (b) is unfit for human consumption
  • (c) consists in whole or in part of any filthy, putrid, disgusting, rotten, decomposed or diseased animal or vegetable substance
  • (d) is adulterated; or
  • (e) was manufactured, prepared, preserved, packaged or stored under unsanitary conditions"

Failure to comply with the licence conditions and import requirements may result in enforcement action taken by the CFIA.

Appendices:

Appendix I

Importers of pistachios and pistachio products listed in Appendix II must complete the Importer Attestation, which has been sent to the email address associated with your MyCFIA account and submit it to the CFIA by December 10, 2025. Please use the email address corresponding to the location of your firm's office:

If you have not yet received Appendix I, please contact your Area representative by email to request a copy.

Appendix II: Pistachio and pistachios products to declare under the importer attestation

The importer attestation must include any pistachio or pistachio products imported under the following specific HS-OGD (harmonized commodity description and coding system – other government departments):

  • 08.02.51-all OGD extensions Pistachios – In shell
  • 08.02.52-all OGD extensions Pistachios –Shelled
  • 11.06.30-7119-all OGD extensions Flour, meal and powder: Pistachio
  • 20.07.99-721711 and 200799-721723 Pistachio: Paste, butter or spread
  • 20.08.19-7203-all OGD extensions Preparations of pistachio
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