General Requirements for Imports

Facilities Inspection Manual: Provides guidance about establishment registration, quality management program and compliance guidelines. The purpose is to provide Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) inspectors and industry personnel with the necessary procedures to determine compliance with the Fish Inspection Regulations.

Fish Products Inspection Manual - Policies and Procedures: Providing guidance about inspection of imported seafood and sampling to be carried out at the border.

Canadian Shellfish Sanitation Program - Manual of Operations: Provides all the requirements for the classification and monitoring of harvesting areas, as well as harvesting, processing and distribution of bivalve molluscs. It sets all the procedures for controlled relaying and depuration of bivalve molluscs.

Additives, Contaminants, Antimicrobials and Residues

Guidance Document Repository (GDR): “Guide to Additives Permitted in Fish and Fish Products”: Providing guidance about additives that are permitted to be added to food sold in Canada and their maximum limits. 

Fish Products Standards and Methods Manual: Provides guidance on contaminants and residues of veterinary drugs, as well as their standards and their permitted maximum limits in its appendix 3.

Microbiological and Organic Criteria

Fish Products Standards and Methods Manual:Providing microbiological criteria in its Appendix 2.

Importing live and raw molluscan shellfish: Establishes requirements that apply to certain species of molluscan shellfish imported live or raw (frozen or unfrozen) for direct consumption or to be cooked prior to consumption.

Criteria for Biotoxins

Canadian Shellfish Sanitation Program - Manual of Operations: Providing guidance on biotoxins, their standards and their maximum limits.

Traceability

The Fish Import Program Regulatory Verification Process:Describes the process that is implemented by the CFIA to verify that licenced importers are complying with the requirements. This document also serves to describe the process implemented by CFIA to verify that the inspection program is effective in providing reasonable assurance that seafood imported into Canada is safe. Provides guidance about the imported food inspection advice, the treatment, destruction or re-exportation of non-compliant seafood.

Canadian Regulatory Requirements for Fish Import Licence Holders (Basic Importers): Outlining the Canadian regulatory requirements for importing seafood into Canada for commercial purposes as food for direct human consumption or further processing. This directive describes the responsibilities of the importer as it applies to importing seafood into Canada under a fish import licence.

Labelling and Packaging

Guidance Document Repository (GDR), “Labelling Requirements for Fish and Fish Products”: Provides guidance about the necessary requirements and standards for labelling and packaging.

How do we find the last consolidated version of the Regulations?

The latest versions of the Canadian regulations are available at the following link:

http://www.inspection.gc.ca/food/fish-and-seafood/manuals/eng/1300214284745/1300214372565

Last update: 03/06/2019