Canadian food regulations and legislation should be updated to bring them into line with evolving food industry realities, says a report from the Conference Board of Canada.
It calls for a new Food Act to be passed by Parliament and changes to the regulatory system to require a more rigorous cost-benefit analysis, better measurement of regulation effectiveness and an automatic sunset process that would kill regulations “if their existence is no longer justified.
The report also says governments should make sure the system of public regulations takes account of industry food quality systems and quality standards created and enforced by the private sector. The “All Together Now” report calls for more collaboration between regulators and industry.
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While the Canadian food regulatory system is “strong and considered world class” in achieving public policy goals like food safety, it can be better, said the report published Feb. 1 by the Board’s Centre for Food in Canada (CFIC), created last year as a three-year project to lead the research and discussion on a national food strategy.
“In examining the effectiveness of the regulatory system, the costs of regulatory intervention relative to its benefits need to be taken into account.”
However, despite business criticism of the regulatory burden, the Conference Board said a survey of industry showed support for strong and effective regulations is widespread. There is “no appetite in business for significant deregulation of the industry.”
The report was published in preparation for a national conference in Toronto Feb. 7-8 to discuss the future of the food system.
The CFIC plans to produce a proposed national food strategy by October 2013.
