Language selection

Search

Broth, flavour and extract of meat origin

On this page

  1. 1.0 Introduction
  2. 2.0 Legal basis
  3. 3.0 About the "Certificate to a Foreign Government (CFG)" issued by the FDA-CFSAN
  4. 4.0 Labelling
  5. 5.0 Import process
  6. 6.0 Questions
  7. 7.0 Food products with meat ingredients and the documents required for their importation

1.0 Introduction

Licence holders require an official document to import certain food products of meat origin to replace the "CFIA Letters of Exemption" issued before September 2012 and the CFIA model "importer's attestation" that was in use after November 2013. To facilitate the transition to the new documentation, the previous documentation is accepted until October 31, 2020.

2.0 Legal basis

The legal basis for the official document is under Section 25 (b) of the Safe Food for Canadians Regulations (SFCR).

An insignificant quantity of meat in food is set at 2% or less as defined in the SFCR: Glossary of key terms.

The Health of Animals Regulations is the legal basis for the zoosanitary attestations in the official document. Under the Health of Animals Regulations, the import of meat in any quantity is regulated. That is to say that the SFCR definition of insignificant quantity of meat is not applied under the Health of Animals Regulations.

The CFIA is adopting an integrated risk-based approach under both regulations for the import of these products. The Health of Animals Regulations takes priority over the SFCR.

For imports from the United States, the CFIA accepts as the official document either an Official Meat Inspection Certificate (OMIC) issued by the United States Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) or a Certificate to a Foreign Government (CFG) issued by the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN).

For imports from all other countries (other than the United States) the CFIA accepts an Official Meat Inspection Certificate (OMIC) or a negotiated food certificate approved by the CFIA.

There is no need for an OMIC, a CFG, or a negotiated food certificate approved by the CFIA if the product falls in one of the two categories of lower risk defined in the table below.

The prospective exporter and the Safe Food for Canadians import licence holder must comply with any additional import requirements or restrictions associated when importing a commodity or the licencing requirements that falls under applicable Canadian laws.

Please consult the Automated Import Reference System (AIRS) to learn about the import requirements.

3.0 About the "Certificate to a Foreign Government (CFG)" issued by the FDA-CFSAN

The CFIA and the FDA-CFSAN have negotiated 2 specific certificates for food exported to Canada containing meat ingredients of:

Use the CFSAN online application to obtain these certificates. If you have questions, please email the FDA at: CFSANExportCertification@fda.hhs.gov.

The OMIC or CFG replaces the CFIA model "importer's attestation" and all CFIA issued "Letters of Exemption". The "importer attestation" and the "letters of exemption" documents will continue to be accepted until October 31, 2020.

Use the CFG to import the following products from the United States into Canada:

Once issued, a CFG is valid for a maximum period of 1 year and can be used repetitively to import the products covered by this guidance. The CFG may list more products on the same document than what is presented for an import transaction. An importer may import some or all of the products listed on their valid CFG certificate. Not all products are required to be imported each time the certificate is used.

You must obtain a new CFG certificate if the information is no longer correct (for example, the description of products, shipping a new product, the exporter, the importer or other changes).

For food containing meat ingredients of poultry origin, the CFG must state that the product has been heat-treated:

4.0 Labelling

All products imported into Canada must meet labelling requirements as specified in the SFCR Part 11. Consult the Industry Labelling Tool.

Products with insignificant quantity of meat do not require an inspection legend. For products covered under this guidance and produced in Food and Drug Administration's registered establishments, no inspection legend is required.

Other products must bear a meat inspection legend when covered under this guidance and originating from an establishment under USDA-FSIS supervision or from any country approved under Part 7 of the SFCR.

5.0 Import process

  1. The Safe Food for Canadians licence holder or its broker submits either the OMIC or CFG (for goods originating from the U.S.) or an OMIC issued by a foreign competent authority or a negotiated food certificate (for goods originating from countries other than the U.S.) with each import shipment
  2. Submit any other documentation required by the Canada Border Services Agency
  3. An Import Inspection Report (IIR) will be generated by NISC when an OMIC is received
  4. The CFIA releases the shipment if the documentation is correct
  5. The SFC licence holder is not required to deliver the product in its imported condition to a CFIA approved establishment for storage, handling and inspection
  6. The SFC licence holder is responsible to keep records per the SFCR requirements for traceability of imported products (for example, for the purpose of recall of the product)

This guidance applies to a variety of food products. The following table (see below) shows different categories of food products with different amounts of meat ingredients and the documents for importing them into Canada.

6.0 Questions

If you have questions about the import process, contact the CFIA National Import Service Centre at 1-800-835-4486 or 1-289-247-4099.

If you cannot find the category your product falls into, please contact the CFIA at cfia.foodimport-alimentsimportes.acia@inspection.gc.ca.

7.0 Food products with meat ingredients and the documents required for their importation

Type of food product Certificates

Insignificant quantity

  • Pork and beans (meeting the standard of identity)
  • Traditional bakery products including plum pudding (Note: does not include bakery products with a meat topping or filling)
  • Salad dressings
  • Dairy-based dip
  • Cheese containing 3% or less of added meat product provided:
    • the meat utilized in the cheese originates from a licence holder or its foreign equivalent
    • a statement on the label of the cheese reflects the origin of the meat product, and
    • the cheese containing the meat product was prepared by a licence holder or its foreign equivalent
  • Foods, other than meat products, cooked in animal fat
  • Potato-based foods such as perogies containing not more than 3% meat products
  • Fish products in which the only meat product is rendered animal fat
  • Capsules, tablets and retail size containers of liquid and powder-concentrates, containing meat or meat by-products that are intended and labelled for sale as pharmaceuticals or pseudo pharmaceuticals rather than as food products

Regulatory basis: SFCR Glossary of key terms

No certificate required

Prepackaged, shelf stable, heat treated meat seasoning
Is in the same package as a food or meal for human consumption (for example, noodles or rice with flavouring). These are considered to pose negligible risk and can be imported without any documentation.
No certificate required
Broth, flavour and extract of meat origin Imports from the United States:
  • Product produced at a FDA facility: CFG certificate issued by the FDA-CFSAN
  • Product produced at a US-FSIS facility: OMIC issued by USDA-FSIS

Imports from other countries:
  • Official Meat Inspection Certificate or negotiated food certificate approved by the CFIA

Note: A list of HS codes for food products covered under this guidance is available on request by sending an email to: cfia.foodimport-alimentsimportes.acia@inspection.gc.ca

Date modified: