Food Safety
www.foodsafety.gc.ca
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Roles in Food Safety
Consumers
You depend on farmers, governments and industry for safe food. But we all must take steps to prevent harmful microorganisms from spreading in food and potentially causing food poisoning.
- Your role in food safety: In the home, you play an important role in making sure the food you store, prepare and serve is safe.
Government
Food safety is a priority and many government departments and agencies work to make food safe for Canadians.
- Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA): Provides federal inspection services (related to food) and enforces the food safety and nutritional quality standards established by Health Canada.
- Health Canada: Establishes food safety and nutritional quality standards.
- Public Health Agency of Canada: Conducts outbreak surveillance and epidemiology and provides advice to protect people's health.
- Progress on food safety: This third interim report describes actions taken from the point immediately following the 2008 listeriosis outbreak to June 2011.
- Provincial/territorial governments and local health authorities: Provincial governments, municipalities or regional health authorities generally conduct restaurant and food service inspections.
- Claims made by restaurant operators: The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) works to protect you from misleading practices in restaurants.
- Guide to Food Labelling and Advertising: A tool to help industry protect consumers and comply with Canadian laws.
- Defining "Product of Canada" and "Made in Canada": The federal government tightened up the criteria for using the claims "Product of Canada" and "Made in Canada" on food labels and in food advertising.
- The National Chemical Residue Monitoring Program: By sampling products and testing for chemical residues the CFIA is able to identify and remove contaminants from the food supply.
- The Food Emergency Response System: Key findings from the first food safety assessment of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency's activities related to the Food Emergency Response System.
- Regulating sports nutrition products: This guide on helps retailers spot products that do not comply with Canadian law. Retailers are responsible for keeping such items off their shelves.
- Monitoring the shellfish industry: The CFIA can temporarily shut down shellfish processors or remove their licence if it identifies unacceptable operating and sanitation conditions.
Industry
Industry plays an important role in keeping Canada's food safe by identifying and managing food safety risks, and by complying with all of Canada's food safety regulations.
- Industry's role in food safety: Find out about industry's role in achieving safe, wholesome products for you.
- Progress on food safety
- Rigorous inspection, testing and compliance: Industry monitors their production processes to ensure food safety by conducting their own inspection and testing programs.
- Food safety programs: In Canada, all federally inspected meat and fish processing facilities must follow strict guidelines and rules for food safety.
- Canada's meat inspection system: A reference for federal meat inspectors and all those involved in preparing meat for consumers.
- Farms and food safety: Food safety programs on farms help producers monitor, control and prevent food safety risks.
