Canada issues new import requirements for U.S. leafy greens
Canada issues new import requirements for U.S. leafy greens
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency will implement new import requirements on U.S. leafy greens, effective June 1. Under the new requirements, which were announced May 4, shippers must declare on confirmation of sale documents whether any of the leafy greens that they are exporting to Canada were grown in California or in a state other than California.
If any product was grown in California, the CFIA will now require that it be from a signatory handler of the California Leafy Green Products Handler Marketing Agreement.
These requirements will apply to all shipments of leafy greens, including Iceberg, Romaine, green leaf, red leaf, baby and butter lettuce, spring mix, spinach, cabbage, escarole, endive, kale, arugula and chard, that are sold in bags, in bulk or combined with other fresh food items.
According to Rene Cardinal, acting director of the CFIA's fruit and vegetable program, the new requirements have been in the works since the beginning of March, when the agency met with the U.S. Food & Drug Administration, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the California Department of Food & Agriculture.
"We did consultations with all of the key players in the U.S.," he said.
"Everybody knows the outbreaks that happened last year, including Taco Bell, Taco John's and spinach," he continued. "It's the 23rd outbreak associated with leafy greens in the past 10 years. If you look at the history of the 23 outbreaks, the majority of them were coming from California. When I say the majority, in the early stages [the investigations] were not traced back to any particular state, so the origin is unknown, but of the 23, 15 were from coming from California. Obviously we want to know ... what system California could put in place to minimize the risk. We were talking to the California Department of Food and Agriculture to learn what the [handler] agreement is about, and when we saw that almost everybody signed the agreement, it was easier for us to make this policy."
Mr. Cardinal said, "We put monitoring at the border just in case some of the non-signatory growers ship to Canada," and noted that CFIA "will refuse entry to those [growers] that didn't sign the agreement."
According to Mr. Cardinal, growers and shippers would be asked to abide by the new requirements by May 21 "so they are not caught at the border without any proper documents" when they go into full effect on June 1.
Mr. Cardinal said that the announcement was made to government agencies and industry associations on both sides of the border, including the Canadian Produce Marketing Association and the United Fresh Produce Association.
Heather Holland, CPMA's senior technical manager for food safety and government relations, said, "Our largest concern is always going to be slowdown at the border and making sure that the requirements are crystal clear for all parties involved."
Ms. Holland said that CPMA is "strongly encouraging all industry members to be aware of the requirements," which she noted "were supportive of the efforts made in California on the marketing agreement. It was done in a very open manner, which we were quite happy about. From what we understand, it is a fairly practical approach, because they are using existing documentation to identify the state of origin."
Matt McInerney, executive vice president of Western Growers Association, said that he applauds Canadian regulators for taking a measured approach to their alert, and that the requirements match the efforts that have been undertaken in California. "The Canadians acknowledge that there is substance behind the agreement."
He also said that in global trade, "we have to be cognizant of the fact that we need transparency."
Mr. Cardinal said that the new requirement would be in effect for the foreseeable future, at least until the CFIA's confidence level in California leafy greens increases.
"If after a year or two there is no outbreak and the marketing agreement is working, we'll look at relaxing it," he said. "As we stand right now, we have no visions to review this until changes happen."
If any product was grown in California, the CFIA will now require that it be from a signatory handler of the California Leafy Green Products Handler Marketing Agreement.
These requirements will apply to all shipments of leafy greens, including Iceberg, Romaine, green leaf, red leaf, baby and butter lettuce, spring mix, spinach, cabbage, escarole, endive, kale, arugula and chard, that are sold in bags, in bulk or combined with other fresh food items.
According to Rene Cardinal, acting director of the CFIA's fruit and vegetable program, the new requirements have been in the works since the beginning of March, when the agency met with the U.S. Food & Drug Administration, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the California Department of Food & Agriculture.
"We did consultations with all of the key players in the U.S.," he said.
"Everybody knows the outbreaks that happened last year, including Taco Bell, Taco John's and spinach," he continued. "It's the 23rd outbreak associated with leafy greens in the past 10 years. If you look at the history of the 23 outbreaks, the majority of them were coming from California. When I say the majority, in the early stages [the investigations] were not traced back to any particular state, so the origin is unknown, but of the 23, 15 were from coming from California. Obviously we want to know ... what system California could put in place to minimize the risk. We were talking to the California Department of Food and Agriculture to learn what the [handler] agreement is about, and when we saw that almost everybody signed the agreement, it was easier for us to make this policy."
Mr. Cardinal said, "We put monitoring at the border just in case some of the non-signatory growers ship to Canada," and noted that CFIA "will refuse entry to those [growers] that didn't sign the agreement."
According to Mr. Cardinal, growers and shippers would be asked to abide by the new requirements by May 21 "so they are not caught at the border without any proper documents" when they go into full effect on June 1.
Mr. Cardinal said that the announcement was made to government agencies and industry associations on both sides of the border, including the Canadian Produce Marketing Association and the United Fresh Produce Association.
Heather Holland, CPMA's senior technical manager for food safety and government relations, said, "Our largest concern is always going to be slowdown at the border and making sure that the requirements are crystal clear for all parties involved."
Ms. Holland said that CPMA is "strongly encouraging all industry members to be aware of the requirements," which she noted "were supportive of the efforts made in California on the marketing agreement. It was done in a very open manner, which we were quite happy about. From what we understand, it is a fairly practical approach, because they are using existing documentation to identify the state of origin."
Matt McInerney, executive vice president of Western Growers Association, said that he applauds Canadian regulators for taking a measured approach to their alert, and that the requirements match the efforts that have been undertaken in California. "The Canadians acknowledge that there is substance behind the agreement."
He also said that in global trade, "we have to be cognizant of the fact that we need transparency."
Mr. Cardinal said that the new requirement would be in effect for the foreseeable future, at least until the CFIA's confidence level in California leafy greens increases.
"If after a year or two there is no outbreak and the marketing agreement is working, we'll look at relaxing it," he said. "As we stand right now, we have no visions to review this until changes happen."
