The FDA & CFIA Agree Their Food Safety Systems Are Similar… Now What?

By Lance Schultz, Quality Programs Facilitator, JD Smith & Sons Ltd.

With FSMA’s final rules being published, the clock is ticking until enforcement of the legislation becomes a reality. So, how does the FDA implement enforcement and achieve the level of oversight prescribed by FSMA? And how does the FDA ensure foreign suppliers are meeting FSMA requirements? To answer that question, in part, we need to consider foreign food safety systems and how they measure up to FSMA.

U.S. — Canada Food Relations
Canada is one food safety system foreign to the U.S. and the second largest exporter of food to the U.S. — exporting 22 to 24 billion dollars of food to the U.S. each year. With this level of investment in the U.S. economy, it is important for Canadian companies to adhere to FSMA and ensure food processed and manufactured in Canada meets the criteria prescribed in its pages.

For years, the U.S. and Canada have participated in mutual policy development through organizations such as the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). The OECD has published several benchmarking studies that rank food safety systems of various countries based on food safety metrics. Both the U.S. and Canada have their own comparability assessment tools for conducting assessments of foreign food safety systems based on performance metrics. The Canada — U.S. Regulatory Cooperation Council (RCC) is a joint committee that uses systems recognition tools to assess impacts of food safety programs between countries with the goal of promoting partnership.

Regulatory Cooperation Council
The Canada — U.S. RCC has a mandate to reduce duplication, enhance information sharing, and leverage resources to meet public health objectives in both countries. This is done with the end goal of improving trade opportunities. The focus of the RCC is collaboration of food safety systems that are similar, not necessarily identical.

Back in April, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA), Health Canada, and the FDA — through the Canada – U.S. RCC — signed a food safety system recognition arrangement. This arrangement recognized that Canadian and U.S. food safety control systems provide a similar level of protection. The agreement will result in better cooperation between Canada and U.S., better aligned food safety regulatory systems, and better protect the health and safety of citizens.

Canada is the second country to sign such as agreement with the U.S., with New Zealand having been the first. The U.S. — Canada agreement did not however, include meat, poultry, and eggs, which are currently governed by the USDA.

FSMA And Food Safety Systems Recognition Agreement
The results of the RCC collaboration found that FSMA is consistent with the Safe Food for Canadians Act. Both U.S. and Canadian food safety systems are risk-based, which prioritize inspection based on risk. Both systems are also preventative in nature, taking steps to mitigate hazards before they can cause contamination.

It was a priority for the FDA to consider harmonization of foreign regulations to FSMA when developing the food safety systems recognition agreement (FSSR). Resources of the FDA are limited and inspection of foreign suppliers is a potentially expensive initiative. Because of the recognition between U.S. and Canada on the similarity of standards, practices, and oversight, the FDA will rely on the CFIA for inspection of Canadian food producers and processors.

The agreement applies to food that will not be further processed in the U.S., which the Foreign Supplier Verification Rule of FSMA would cover. Due to recognition of equivalency of food produced inside and outside the U.S., imports will be exempt for many foreign supplier verification programs for countries that have achieved systems recognition by the FDA.

Enhanced communication and sharing between U.S. and other countries, such Australia and those within the EU, will assist to foster partnership to align food safety practices between countries and offer an equivalent level of public health protection. Continuous improvement of food safety systems for countries such as Canada and New Zealand should ensure programs remain within coordination.