Safe Food for Canadians Act S-11 Adopted by the Senate

Oct 18, 2012

New Food Act to Enhance Food Safety Inspection in Canada

The Safe Food for Canadian’s Act S-11 that was tabled last spring was adopted by the Senate on Wednesday. The Act seeks to modernize food safety and will provide the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) with more authority over inspection.

"Canadian consumers have always been our Government's top priority when it comes to food safety," said Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz. "This legislation demonstrates the Harper Government's commitment to strengthening Canada's food safety system and we hope this legislation is passed expeditiously by Members of Parliament."

Some of the specific enhancements include:

• More authority for CFIA inspectors to demand food producers to provide information and documents in a timely manner.
• CFIA authorities can demand that food processors have traceability systems in place as part of regulation requirements.
• Tougher penalties for food processors who don’t meet compliances.
• More control over imports and exports.
• More consistence inspection regime for all food commodities.

The Act was adopted with an amendment that would require the Minister of Agriculture to reassess resources that are allocated for food inspection on a five year basis and would also allow the Auditor General to review the allocation of these resources over the span of five year period at any time.

Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.