Safe Food for Canadians Regulations (SOR/2018-108)

Marginal note:Packaging in same container

331 Only graded poultry carcasses that are dressed or partially dressed and that have the same common name may be packaged in the same container.

DIVISION 5Conditions for Grading of Certain Foods

SUBDIVISION AGrading of Eggs

Marginal note:Conditions for grading

• 332 (1) A licence holder may grade an egg only if the egg

  • (a) is edible;

  • (b) does not emit an abnormal odour;

  • (c) is not mouldy;

  • (d) has not been in an incubator;

  • (e) does not have any internal defect; and

  • (f) is of a usual colour.

• Marginal note:Exception

  (2) Despite paragraph (1)(e), a licence holder may grade and apply the grade name Canada C to an egg that has a particle of the oviduct or a blood spot neither of which exceeds 3 mm in diameter.

Marginal note:Ungraded eggs

• 333 (1) Ungraded eggs that are received at an establishment where eggs are graded by a licence holder must be graded and labelled with the applicable grade name that is set out in the Compendium or, if they do not meet the requirements in respect of any grade that are set out in these Regulations, they must be rejected.

• Marginal note:Rejected eggs

  (2) Eggs that are rejected must be destroyed or be placed in a container that is labelled with the words “Rejects” and “rejetés”.

SUBDIVISION BGrading of Livestock Carcasses

Marginal note:Request for grading

334 A grader may grade a livestock carcass in an establishment that is identified in a licence or in a provincial establishment if one of the following persons has requested in writing that the carcass be graded:

• (a) any person who is in authority in the establishment;

• (b) any producer; or

• (c) the person who is in possession of the livestock carcass.

Marginal note:Conditions for grading

335 A grader may grade a livestock carcass if

• (a) the carcass bears a meat inspection stamp or, in the case of an imported beef carcass, the official inspection mark of the foreign state of origin;

• (b) the grading takes place

  • (i) in the case of a bison carcass or ovine carcass, in the establishment that is identified in a licence, or the provincial establishment, where the animal was slaughtered,

  • (ii) in the case of a veal carcass, in the establishment that is identified in a licence, or the provincial establishment, where the animal was slaughtered or where the carcass was divided into primal cuts or sub-primal cuts, or

  • (iii) in the case of a beef carcass, in the establishment that is identified in a licence, or the provincial establishment, where the animal was slaughtered or in the establishment that is identified in a licence where the carcass was divided into primal cuts or sub-primal cuts;

• (c) the carcass has been weighed by a weighmaster using a scale that is approved under section 3 of the Weights and Measures Act;

• (d) the carcass is presented for grading

  • (i) at a grading stand where the lighting intensity, measured at the level of the grading stand, is at least 1 000 lx, or

  • (ii) in a cooler where the lighting intensity, measured at the loin level of the carcass, is at least 200 lx;

• (e) at least 10 minutes before grading,

  • (i) in the case of a beef carcass or bison carcass, an employee of the establishment performs, to the satisfaction of the grader, a knife-rib on the carcass, or

  • (ii) in the case of a veal carcass, an employee of the establishment performs, to the satisfaction of the grader, a cut on the lean of the brisket to enable the grader to determine the colour reading of the veal carcass;

• (f) the establishment has adequate equipment and facilities for weighing and grading livestock carcasses; and

• (g) the grading equipment is functioning properly and is accurate.

Marginal note:Adequate facilities

• 336 (1) If more than 400 livestock carcasses are graded per hour in an establishment that is identified in a licence or in a provincial establishment, more than one grading stand is required for the purposes of paragraph 335(f).

• Marginal note:Grading stand — requirements

  (2) For the purposes of paragraph 335(f), a grading stand must be easily adjustable for height and must

  • (a) if the rate of grading is 150 carcasses per hour or less, be at least 3 m long and 2 m wide;

  • (b) if the rate of grading is more than 150 carcasses per hour but not more than 300 carcasses per hour, be at least 4 m long and 2 m wide; and

  • (c) if the rate of grading is more than 300 carcasses per hour, be at least 5 m long and 2 m wide.

Marginal note:Weighing before trimming

337 A livestock carcass that is graded must be weighed before it is trimmed, unless an inspector or grader directs that it be trimmed before it is weighed.

SUBDIVISION CGrading of Poultry Carcasses

Marginal note:Conditions for grading — dressed carcass

• 338 (1) A grader may grade a poultry carcass that has been dressed if

  • (a) the carcass is from poultry slaughtered in an establishment that is identified in a licence or in a provincial establishment;

  • (b) the carcass has been inspected under the Act or under an Act of a province that regulates the inspection of poultry carcasses;

  • (c) in the case of a chilled poultry carcass, the flesh or skin is not dried out;

  • (d) the carcass is not discoloured from insufficient bleeding;

  • (e) the carcass has no more than one heart, liver, gizzard and neck packed with it or inserted into it;

  • (f) in the case of a poultry carcass that weighs more than 900 g, the breast bone is intact; and

  • (g) the carcass has not been basted or stuffed.

• Marginal note:Conditions for grading — partially dressed carcass

  (2) A grader may grade a poultry carcass that has been partially dressed if

  • (a) the carcass meets the requirements that are set out in paragraphs (1)(a) to (g);

  • (b) the carcass has been eviscerated;

  • (c) the epidermis has been removed from the feet and shanks;

  • (d) the claws have been removed;

  • (e) the head, if present, is wrapped; and

  • (f) the beak, if present, is clean.

• Marginal note:Grading in an establishment

  (3) A poultry carcass must not be graded in any place other than in an establishment that is identified in a licence or in a provincial establishment.

DIVISION 6Grading Certificates

Marginal note:Conditions for issuance

• 339 (1) A grader — or a licence holder, the operator of a provincial establishment or a marketing agency under the direction of a grader — may issue a grading certificate in respect of a livestock carcass or a lot of livestock carcasses if

  • (a) at the time of delivery of the food animal or lot of food animals to an establishment that is identified in a licence or to a provincial establishment for slaughter, the producer has

    • (i) requested the certificate in writing,

    • (ii) identified each animal that is intended to be slaughtered with an identification code, and

    • (iii) completed and filed with any person who is in authority in the establishment a list that associates each identification code with the producer; and

  • (b) after slaughter, the identification code of each slaughtered animal is retained on or transferred to the livestock carcass by any person who is in authority in the establishment.

• Marginal note:Contents of certificate

  (2) The grading certificate must be signed by the grader and include the following information:

  • (a) the name and address of the producer;

  • (b) the name of any person who is acting on behalf of the producer;

  • (c) the name and address of the establishment where the livestock carcasses were graded;

  • (d) the certificate number;

  • (e) the date of slaughter;

  • (f) for each livestock carcass,

    • (i) its identification code,

    • (ii) its warm weight as determined by a weighmaster, and

    • (iii) its grade;

  • (g) in the case of a lot of livestock carcasses,

    • (i) the number of livestock carcasses per grade or per yield class, and

    • (ii) the number of livestock carcasses that have been condemned;

  • (h) in the case of a grading certificate that is issued in respect of a beef carcass that is graded Canada A, Canada AA, Canada AAA or Canada Prime, the yield of the beef carcass;

  • (i) in the case of a grading certificate that is issued in respect of a beef carcass or bison carcass, an indication, for each carcass, of its age, meat colour, firmness, and, if any,

    • (i) its musculature,

    • (ii) its marbling, specifically, the amount, size and distribution of intramuscular fat deposits in the longissimus muscles,

    • (iii) its fat colour or texture,

    • (iv) its fat measurement, and

    • (v) its pronounced masculinity;

  • (j) in the case of a grading certificate that is issued in respect of a lamb carcass, as defined in the Compendium, for each carcass,

    • (i) the fat measurement,

    • (ii) the score for musculature of each primal cut and the average score for musculature,

    • (iii) in the case of a carcass that is graded Canada AAA, the yield, and

    • (iv) an indication of any musculature demerits, meat colour demerits or fat colour demerits that were assigned to the carcass; and

  • (k) in the case of a grading certificate that is issued in respect of a mutton carcass, as defined in the Compendium, the fat measurement of the carcass.

• Marginal note:Recording of information

  (3) The information referred to in subsection (2) may be recorded on the grading certificate by the licence holder, the operator or the marketing agency referred to in subsection (1).

PART 13Organic Products

DIVISION 1Interpretation

Marginal note:Definitions

340 The following definitions apply in this Part.

aquaculture product

aquaculture product has the same meaning as in CAN/CGSB-32.312. (produit aquacole)

CAN/CGSB-32.310

CAN/CGSB-32.310 means the Canadian General Standards Board standard CAN/CGSB-32.310, entitled Organic production systems — General principles and management standards, as amended from time to time. (norme CAN/CGSB-32.310)

CAN/CGSB-32.311

CAN/CGSB-32.311 means the Canadian General Standards Board standard CAN/CGSB-32.311, entitled Organic production systems — Permitted substances lists, as amended from time to time. (norme CAN/CGSB-32.311)

CAN/CGSB-32.312

CAN/CGSB-32.312 means the Canadian General Standards Board standard CAN/CGSB-32.312, entitled Organic production systems — Aquaculture — General principles, management standards and permitted substances lists, as amended from time to time. (norme CAN/CGSB-32.312)

certification body

certification body means any person who is accredited as a certification body under section 361 or 363 and who is responsible for the organic certification of food commodities and for the certification of packaging or labelling of organic products. (organisme de certification)

conformity verification body

conformity verification body means any person who, having complied with the requirements that are set out in ISO/IEC 17011, has entered into an agreement with the Agency under subsection 14(1) of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency Act to assess, recommend for accreditation and monitor certification bodies. (organisme de vérification de la conformité)

ISO/IEC 17011

ISO/IEC 17011 means the International Organization for Standardization standard ISO/IEC 17011, entitled Conformity assessment — General requirements for accreditation bodies accrediting conformity assessment bodies, as amended from time to time. (norme ISO/IEC 17011)

ISO/IEC 17065

ISO/IEC 17065 means the International Organization for Standardization standard ISO/IEC 17065, entitled Conformity assessment — Requirements for bodies certifying products, processes and services, as amended from time to time. (norme ISO/IEC 17065)

Marginal note:Definition food commodity in Act

• 341 (1) For the purposes of paragraph (c) of the definition food commodity in section 2 of the Act, the following are prescribed food commodities:

  • (a) feed as defined in section 2 of the Feeds Act; and

  • (b) seed as defined in section 2 of the Seeds Act.

• Marginal note:Feed

  (2) For the purposes of paragraph (1)(a), a reference to “livestock” in the definition feed in section 2 of the Feeds Act must be read to include livestock that is an aquaculture product.

• Marginal note:Exemption

  (3) A food commodity that is not included in paragraph (a) or (b) of the definition food commodity in section 2 of the Act is exempted from the application of any provision of the Act and of these Regulations that is not necessary to give effect to this Part. For greater certainty, the exemption does not include section 6 of the Act.

DIVISION 2Packaging and Labelling

Marginal note:Packaging and labelling

342 The packaging and labelling of an organic product that is to be sent or conveyed from one province to another may only be conducted by a person who holds a certificate that is granted under section 345 or 348.

DIVISION 3Percentage of Organic Products

Marginal note:Determination of percentage of organic products

343 The percentage of the contents of a multi-ingredient food commodity that are organic products must be determined in accordance with CAN/CGSB-32.310.

DIVISION 4Certification

SUBDIVISION AOrganic Certification of Food Commodities

Marginal note:Application for organic certification

• 344 (1) Any person who wishes to obtain the organic certification of a food commodity must apply in writing to a certification body.

• Marginal note:Contents of application

  (2) The application must include

  • (a) the name of the food commodity;

  • (b) a statement that sets out the substances and materials that are used to conduct any activities with respect to the food commodity and that describes the manner in which those substances and materials are used;

  • (c) a document that sets out in detail the methods that are used by the applicant, or by a person acting on behalf of the applicant, to conduct any activities with respect to the food commodity and the control mechanisms that are in place to ensure that those methods meet the requirements that are set out

    • (i) in the case of an aquaculture product, in CAN/CGSB-32.312, and

    • (ii) in the case of a food commodity other than an aquaculture product, in CAN/CGSB-32.310;

  • (d) in the case where a person packages and labels the food commodity on behalf of the applicant, the name of the person and a copy of the certificate referred to in subsection 348(2) that they hold; and

  • (e) in the case of a multi-ingredient food commodity, a statement that sets out its composition and the percentage of its contents that are organic products.

• Marginal note:Time of application

  (3) In the case of an application for the organic certification of a food commodity, the application must be filed within 12 months before the day on which the food commodity is expected to be sold or, in the case of an application for the organic certification of any of the following food commodities, at least 15 months before that day:

  • (a) maple products;

  • (b) field crops or crops that are grown in greenhouses with an in-ground permanent soil system;

  • (c) wild crops within the meaning of CAN/CGSB-32.312; and

  • (d) aquaculture products with a production cycle of more than 12 months.