Concerns over proposed changes to federal food safety regulations

Aug 26, 2026 | 3:10 PM

The Canadian Meat Council (CMC)raised concerns about proposed amendments to the Safe Food for Canadians Regulations (SFCR) that would allow certain provincially inspected meat products to enter interprovincial trade.

Kyle Larkin, CMC President and CEO said that while its members strongly support reducing interprovincial trade barriers, the proposed four-year exemption risks creating a regulatory loophole that could weaken Canada’s food safety framework.

“Most meat processed in Canada already moves across provincial borders. We support efforts to expand that trade, but not by creating different inspection standards for products entering the same market,” Larkin said. “The potential damage to consumer and international confidence in Canada’s food safety system far outweighs the limited benefit of this proposal.”

Federal and provincial meat inspection systems serve different purposes and markets. Larkin said federally licensed facilities operate under continuous, on-site inspection by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA).

“Canada needs one federal food safety standard that is applied consistently across the country,” he said. “We should be raising standards and expanding access to the federal system—not creating exemptions that blur the line between federal and provincial inspection.”

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According to CMC, roughly 95 per cent of meat processed in Canada comes from federally licensed facilities. CMC estimates that only about 0.5 per cent of the overall industry could benefit from the proposed changes.

“Our federally licensed members invest heavily every year to meet Canada’s rigorous food safety requirements and maintain access to markets around the world,” said Dr. Sylvain Fournaise, Chair of the CMC. “Allowing products produced under different inspection standards into interprovincial trade risks undermining that investment and the reputation Canada has built as a trusted supplier of safe, high-quality meat.”

Fournaise said the issue is solvable.

“Instead of lowering the bar, we should help more provincially inspected facilities achieve federal certification. That would expand interprovincial trade while protecting the integrity of Canada’s food safety system.”

CMC has submitted its concerns through the CFIA’s public consultation process and urged the federal government to work with industry and provinces on solutions that reduce trade barriers without compromising Canada’s food safety standards or international market access.

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alice.mcfarlane@pattisonmedia.com

by Alice McFarlane

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Concerns over proposed changes to federal food safety regulations

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