Three months until your food business may need a licence

In three months, many businesses will require a licence when the Safe Food for Canadians Regulations (SFCR) come into force. In order to apply for a SFCR licence, businesses will need to attest that they have preventive controls in place.

Food businesses can enrol now in My CFIA to apply for a licence, once licence applications are available. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) will not accept SFCR licence applications sent by email or fax.

Find out if your business will need a licence or be required to meet other SFCR requirements by January 15, 2019 by visiting the CFIA's interactive tools and timelines. The CFIA has also created a new advanced search tool called the Guidance Finder, which lets users find information about SFCR requirements by specifying activity type, food commodity, method of production and document type.

If you currently hold a registration or licence issued under the Canada Agricultural Products Act, Fish Inspection Act, and Meat Inspection Act and it is expiring soon, continue your normal process to renew your registration, as needed. It will remain valid until it expires, provided there is a statement on it that it is also a licence issued under the Safe Food for Canadians Act. Once expired, you will be required to apply for a licence under the SFCR.

The CFIA has proposed a $250 fee for the SFCR licence. The fee amount will be confirmed prior to coming into force on January 15, 2019.

For more information about the Safe Food for Canadians Regulations, visit inspection.gc.ca/safefood.