The Canadian Food Safety Agency issued the following reminder for some Safe Food for Canadians (SFC) licence holders who will need to take action now to ensure they renew their licence before it expires:
Renewal of SFC licences and Work Shift Documents
Some Safe Food for Canadians (SFC) licence holders will need to take action now to ensure they renew their licence before it expires. Some SFC licences expire on January 15, 2023 while others will expire in the days and weeks that follow.
If you have an SFC licence, it can be renewed online through your My CFIA account. Submit your request for renewal as soon as possible to allow sufficient processing time. You can do so up to 120 days before the expiry date of your licence. No matter how early you apply, your renewed SFC licence will be valid for two years from the original expiry date.
If your licence expires, your business will no longer be permitted to conduct licensed activities in accordance with the Safe Food for Canadians Act and may be subject to enforcement actions and removal from export eligibility lists. You will then need to apply for a new licence and be issued a new licence number, which may further disrupt your business activities including the ability to request export certification.
Note: For meat and slaughter establishments where work shift documents apply, please work with your local office to renew your work shift document in alignment with your licence renewal.
Need assistance? Here are useful links.
Issues logging into your existing My CFIA Account
Help us determine your risk level
If you have not already done so, please complete the Establishment Risk Assessment (ERA) questionnaire during your renewal process to ensure your establishment risk is accurately documented. Parties without a completed ERA questionnaire will be considered unassessed and the risk category of the establishment will NOT be reflective of their actual risk level, impacting its inspection frequency.