Do I need an SFCR licence?

Activities, not business types

CFIA's guidance is direct about this: the SFCR specify whether you need a licence based on the activities you conduct, not on the type of business. A small brand and a large processor are treated the same way if they do the same things with food.

Activities that generally need a licence

• Importing food, with some exceptions such as food additives and alcoholic beverages.
• Manufacturing, processing, treating, preserving, grading, packaging or labelling food that will be exported or sent across a provincial or territorial border.
• Some commodity-specific activities, set out in CFIA's guidance.

Activities that generally don't

• Making or selling food that will be sold and consumed within your own province or territory.
• Distributing food between provinces as your only activity, provided the food was made, packaged and labelled by a licence holder.

Some provincial rules require a CFIA licence for certain commodities even when the food stays in the province, including some dairy, egg, fish, fresh fruit or vegetable, honey, maple and meat products.

No licence doesn't mean no requirements

Even without a licence, other parts of the SFCR can apply to you: preventive controls, traceability, packaging and labelling. And if you do need a licence, you may also need a written preventive control plan.

How to check your own case

List every activity you carry out with food, the foods involved, and where each one is sold. Then check them against CFIA's licensing interactive tool and its guidance on licensable activities. If you import, sort the licence out before your first shipment: CFIA says a licence can't be obtained at the border.