Not sure what CFIA requires? Start with your activities.

Whether you need a licence under the Safe Food for Canadians Regulations depends on what you do with food, not on what kind of business you are. I check your activities against the rules, tell you what applies and why, and help you build the preventive control plan if you need one.

CFIA decides on licences and assesses compliance. Its licensing interactive tool is the official place to check your own case.

Check what applies to my business Or book a call

A container ship loaded with freight containers at a port with cranes — Freight containers on a ship at port. Photo: Andy Li / Unsplash

Freight containers on a ship at port. Photo: Andy Li / Unsplash

Who it's for

You import food, or you're about to.
You're starting to sell into another province or abroad.
You hold a licence, but your PCP is thin, out of date or doesn't match your activities.
An inspection has asked you for corrective action.

Activity checkSFCR · PART 3

Start here. List every activity you carry out with food, then check each one.

Import foodLicence generally needed
Make, package or label food sent to another provinceLicence generally needed
Make, package or label food for exportLicence generally needed
Sell only within your provinceGenerally not needed
Distribute between provinces, and nothing elseNot needed if made by a licence holder

Simplified summary of CFIA guidance on licensable activities. Exceptions and commodity rules apply: check your own case.

What I can deliver

A written scope and quotation, agreed before work starts, sets which of these you need.

Activity review: which SFCR requirements apply to you, with the reasoning written down
Support with the licence application in My CFIA
Preventive control plan written for your activities
Traceability and recall procedures
Import controls: evidence that imported food meets Canadian requirements
A briefing so your team knows what an inspector will ask to see

How the work runs

Understand
What you make, import, package, label and sell, and where it goes.
Assess
Which requirements apply, which exceptions might, and what's missing.
Build
The application support, PCP and procedures your activities need.
Hand over
A PCP your team can keep current as products and suppliers change.

Staff training is available for every module and record. It's scoped with any follow-up verification, so you only pay for what you need.

What's required, and what's optional

Rules, certification requirements and good practice aren't the same thing. Here's how they separate for this kind of work.

Regulation: The SFCR set out who needs a licence and a written PCP, and the preventive control, traceability, packaging and labelling rules. Businesses that don't need a written PCP can still have to meet the preventive control requirements.
Certification schemes: GFSI certification doesn't replace SFCR requirements, though much of the work overlaps.
Good practice: Keeping the PCP current as products, suppliers and processes change, not only when a licence is renewed.
What I do: I explain what applies and prepare the documents with you. CFIA decides on licences.

Common questions

Do I need a licence if I only sell in my own province?

Generally no. Under the SFCR, trading food within your province doesn't need a federal licence. Some provincial rules require a CFIA licence for certain commodities, and other SFCR requirements can still apply.

Source: CFIA: Food business activities that require a licence under the SFCR (opens in a new tab)

Do small businesses need a written PCP?

Some don't. CFIA allows an exception from the written PCP for some businesses with $100,000 or less in gross annual food sales. It doesn't apply to certain foods, including meat, fish, dairy, eggs, processed egg products and processed fruit or vegetable products, or if you need an export certificate. Preventive controls still apply.

Source: CFIA: Preventive control plan exception for small food businesses (opens in a new tab)

We only distribute food between provinces. Do we need a licence?

CFIA's guidance says you don't if trading food across provincial borders is your only activity. The food must have been made, packaged and labelled by a licence holder.