The CFIA inspects to:
- verify compliance with regulations (for example, complaints)
- investigate reported problems
- respond to a request from industry (for example, to obtain an export certificate or import permit)
- follow up on a previous inspection
- investigate establishment or product contamination
On this page
Inspection activities
Pre-inspection
1
Your establishment may receive an inspection notice from the CFIA.
2
An inspector meets with you to outline the scope of the inspection. Any changes to your company profile and preventative control plan should be provided to the inspector at this time.
3
The inspector conducts an initial walk through, determining areas that may need to be addressed.
4
The inspector confirms the scope of the inspection based on the walk-through.
Before conducting an on-site or off-site inspection, the inspector may contact the food business using the contact information in its My CFIA account. The inspector will explain the scope of the inspection and indicate what information, documents or samples are required and how, when and where they should be provided. The inspector may require that you provide information during a conference call or send documents or information to their @inspection.gc.ca email address.
In most cases, the inspector tasked to conduct the inspection will be from your local region and you may already know them if you have any interactions with the CFIA. If you are unfamiliar with the inspector, you may contact your local CFIA Office or consult the Government Electronic Directory Service.
During the inspection
5
The inspector verifies if preventative controls are complete and effective through:
- onsite observation
- reviewing documents and records
- interviews with staff
- sampling and measurement
6
The inspector documents inspection observations using a tablet or mobile device.
7
The inspector determines if regulatory requirements are met and completes a report.
The inspector will review the documents, information and samples for the purpose of verifying compliance or preventing non-compliance with the requirements set out under the Safe Food for Canadians Act (SFCA) , the Food and Drugs Act (FDA) and their regulations. The inspector will follow the Standard inspection process, inspection procedures and the guidance to industry available on the CFIA website.
Post-inspection
8
An inspector meets with you to discuss inspection results and your establishment receives the report.
9
Your establishment takes corrective actions for any non-compliant areas.
10
The inspector schedules a follow-up inspection.
Non-compliance
A person who does not provide the material or does not comply with an order made by an inspector would be considered as being in non-compliance to the relevant act.
For information about CFIA responses to non-compliance including enforcement, visit Compliance and enforcement.
Legal authority
The CFIA inspects food businesses to assess whether they are in compliance with federal legislation as it relates to the food sector. To do so, the CFIA conducts inspection activities on-site at your establishment or off-site from a location other than your place of business or establishment. When conducting these inspections, the CFIA inspector may order your business to provide documents, information and samples.
Section 27 of the SFCA and subsection 22.1 (1) of the FDA authorize a CFIA inspector to order that a person provide documents, information or samples needed to verify compliance or prevent non-compliance with legislative requirements. The inspector has the authority to order the documents, information and samples to be provided without needing to go to the place of business.
Protecting information
The CFIA understands the importance of protecting the information you provide to the inspector. The same controls and procedures apply to all documents, information and samples obtained by the inspector, including any material submitted by electronic means.
The CFIA uses perimeter security devices such as layers of firewalls (email and web), antivirus software, network access restrictions, various encrypted volumes for file storage and security in place for specific applications to safeguard information from security breach. The CFIA provides training to staff, including inspectors, on security principles and practices, including how to transport, transmit, store and destroy protected and classified information. Shared Services Canada and the Treasury Board of Canada have information available on how privacy and information is kept secure.