Industry developed its own protocol | Government is asked not to inspect certified mills the same as uncertified mills
Feed mills in Canada will have to adopt hazard analysis critical control point protocols if the federal government’s omnibus agriculture bill is passed.
Graham Cooper, executive director of the Animal Nutrition Association of Canada (ANAC), said the requirement is a “positive step,” but the industry still wants the Canadian Food Inspection Agency to modify its inspection methods for feed mills.
“What it does is requires commercial feed mills to have preventive control plans, hazard identification and control plans in place,” Cooper said.
“Prior to C-18 (the omnibus bill), the government didn’t have the authority to require that. It was strictly on a voluntary basis, which is good up to a point.”
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Federal agriculture minister Gerry Ritz introduced Bill C-18 In mid-December. It includes amendments to the Feeds Act, the Fertilizer Act and the Plant Breeders’ Rights Act.
Agriculture industry groups, including ANAC, are reviewing the contents of the bill to understand how the changes will affect their sector.
ANAC has previously developed its own HAACP program, called FeedAssure, which is tailored for the feed industry. Approximately 170 feed mills and facilities in Canada are now certified under the program, which represents 70 percent of commercial feed production in the country.
The CFIA said in 2010 that FeedAssure satisfied its Food Safety Enhancement Program standards. Certified feed mills are entitled to one less partial CFIA inspection per year.
Despite that recognition, the CFIA inspects certified mills the same as uncertified mills, Cooper said.
“When it comes to the facility inspections, the program (FeedAssure) hasn’t been given adequate recognition,” he said.
“There was very little distinction made between a feed mill that had a HAACP program in place and one that didn’t…. Some of these facilities are visited multiple times a year. And the inspections are covering areas the HAACP program has already covered.”
Cooper said the CFIA should act as an auditor, ensuring that feed mills are satisfying the HAACP program.
“In our view, that’s a more appropriate approach (for) a facility that has taken the trouble to comply with an internationally recognized standard such as HAACP.”
It’s unclear if Bill C-18 requires the CFIA to inspect feed mills differently.
“That’s the $64,000 question,” Cooper said. “(But) we hope so and it appears that was the intent (of the bill).”
Cooper said the feed industry wants the CFIA to fully recognize the FeedAssure program, but that doesn’t mean the industry should self-regulate. Meanwhile it’s uncertain how the legislation will affect Canada’s fertilizer industry.
A government news release introducing the bill said changes to the Fertilizer Act would help fertilizer industries maintain export markets.
Clyde Graham, vice-president of the Canadian Fertilizer Institute, said the changes allow the CFIA to validate the quality of fertilizer.
He said the institute is evaluating the significance of the changes to the Fertilizer Act, but it appears the government is simply “modernizing” the act.
