The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) has published an updated policy regarding the animal health conditions for import of milk and milk products. Beginning in April 2021, new import conditions reflecting the updated policy will be published in the Automated Import Reference System (AIRS): Import Requirements – Canadian Food Inspection Agency (https://airssari.inspection.gc.ca/airs_external/english/decisions-eng.aspx) for foods and beverages containing milk or milk products as defined under the Canadian Health of Animals Regulations (https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/regulations/C.R.C.,_c._296/).
Foods and beverages containing milk or milk products that are consumer pre-packaged and stable when stored at ambient temperature before opening may be imported from any country of origin and zoosanitary certification is not required. Any food and beverage products containing milk that are not consumer prepackaged (for example imported in bulk) or require refrigeration or freezing before opening may only be imported from countries with a veterinary certification system that has been approved by the CFIA, and must be accompanied by a zoosanitary certificate meeting CFIA requirements for import of milk and milk products.
There are two changes to be made:
1) Removal of the informal "50% rule" used to determine whether a commodity with milk or milk products as an ingredient must meet the animal health requirements for import of milk. Previous import conditions for multi-ingredient commodities containing milk were based on the percentage of milk in the product on a dry matter basis. This is being replaced by a risk-based model, where commodities in final consumer-ready packaging that are shelf stable at room temperature are exempt from the animal health requirements for milk. Commodities not meeting these criteria will be treated as milk, and must be accompanied by zoosanitary certification from a country with a veterinary certification system approved by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency;
2) Commodities defined as milk, including foods and beverages containing milk or milk products that are not consumer prepackaged or not shelf stable at room temperature, originating from countries not recognized by the CFIA as free of foot and mouth disease, must undergo two pathogen-reducing treatments. One of these treatments can be a reduction in ph. The requirement for a lowering of pH value to be used as a treatment will change from pH 5 to pH 6, and the required time will be reduced to one hour from two hours, for consistency with international recommendations.
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