The Charlottetown Laboratory

Canadian Food Inspection Agency

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) is responsible for delivering federally mandated programs for food inspection, plant and animal health. The Agency relies on high-quality, timely and relevant science as the basis of its program design and regulatory decision-making. Scientific activities inform the Agency's understanding of risks, provide evidence for developing mitigation measures, and confirm the effectiveness of these measures.

CFIA scientific activities include laboratory testing, research, surveillance, test method development, risk assessments and expert scientific advice. Agency scientists maintain strong partnerships with universities, industry, and federal, provincial and international counterparts to effectively carry out the CFIA's mandate.

The Charlottetown Laboratory

The Charlottetown Laboratory specializes in diagnostic testing and research activities related to potato, grains, oilseeds and soil pathogens. It is a certified biocontainment facility that meets plant pest containment level 2 requirements and houses a multipurpose, segregated greenhouse and state-of-the-art bio-waste system.

The Charlottetown Laboratory is responsible for detecting and diagnosing plant diseases. It plays a key role in supporting the trade of Canadian plant goods through diagnostic testing and the development of technology and techniques that satisfy import, export and domestic requirements. The Charlottetown Laboratory helps ensure plants that enter Canada, as well as Canadian plants that are exported to other countries, are free of disease and pests.

What we do

Services

• Ensure new potato varieties imported into Canada are free from pests and diseases by facilitating the CFIA's Potato Post-Entry Quarantine Program.
• Approve private laboratories for the conduct of regulatory diagnostic testing under the CFIA's Seed Potato Approval Program.
• Provide scientific advice to support plant health programs, inspection staff, regulated parties and other government departments.
• Maintain accreditation for developing and validating test methods, evaluating test kits, and conducting non-routine testing.

Diagnostic testing

• Conduct diagnostic testing in support of the Canadian Seed Potato Certification Program and international trade of Canadian seed potatoes, pulses and other plant commodities.
• Provide proficiency test samples, confirmatory diagnostic testing, test protocols and reference materials to private labs under the Seed Potato Approval Program.

Research and development

• Conduct regulatory research to develop and validate new detection technologies and to increase knowledge of pathogen diversity and their ecological characteristics.
• Participate in collaborative studies with industry partners, commodity groups, academia, other federal and provincial departments, and national and international stakeholders.

Quality management

All CFIA laboratories have demonstrated conformance to ISO/IEC 17025, General requirements for the competence of testing and calibration laboratories. The Standards Council of Canada evaluates our laboratories against this international standard, as a formal verification of the CFIA's capability to produce accurate and reliable results, within our accredited scope of testing. The results are supported by the development, validation and implementation of scientific methods, conducted by highly qualified personnel, using reliable products, services, and equipment, in a quality controlled environment. Participation in international proficiency testing programs further demonstrates that our testing is comparable to laboratories across Canada and around the world.

For further information

93 Mt. Edward Rd.,
Charlottetown, PEI C1A 5T1
inspection.gc.ca

Learn about other CFIA laboratories.