Managing Food Safety Risks Through Progressive Compliance

The Food Safety and Quality Act, 2001 (FSQA) and its regulations are two of the tools used to educate and support the production of safe, quality meat and meat products in Ontario's meat plants. Safe food for Ontario families is a priority for the Ontario government.

When it comes to meat plants, the primary purpose of the FSQA and its regulations is to provide standards for the safe, humane slaughter of healthy food animals and the processing of meat products in an environment that manages and minimizes the health and food safety risks to the consumer.

Through regular inspections of existing facilities, letters, information sheets, funding of workshops, increasing awareness and understanding of good manufacturing practices, and one-on-one direct assistance to individual operators, OMAFRA's inspection staff foster and monitor compliance with the legislation and its goal of managing food safety risks within meat plants. The meat plant operators' responsibility is to produce safe food which requires ensuring their operation and its employees are complying with the requirements of the FSQA and its regulations.

When a meat plant operation is not in compliance, OMAFRA needs to take action to ensure the operation comes into compliance. When this happens, staff follow a progressive compliance protocol which includes various types and levels of action, depending on the nature and history of non-compliance, and whether non-compliance is found in licensed or unlicensed operations.

When non-compliance is identified at a licensed meat plant

Non-compliance may be identified in any given licensed plant as a result of an on-site inspection or through an audit evaluation process. When this happens, meat inspection staff take follow-up action aimed at getting things back on track. This involves working with the operator, providing education and advice on what needs to be done. Generally, the ministry gets excellent co-operation from plant operators.

A progressive approach

If for some reason a plant operator cannot, or refuses to comply, ministry staff follow a progressive compliance protocol, which provides a mechanism for working towards compliance when outreach does not work. If compliance is not achieved to the satisfaction of the inspector, more stringent compliance action is taken. Actions may include:

• further educating the operator on food safety requirements
• issuing a warning letter outlining clear expectations
• stopping production at the plant for up to 24 hours
• placing products under detention so they cannot be transported or sold
• issuing a Compliance Order with specific conditions
• suspending the licence to operate if the non-compliance is believed to be an immediate or serious threat to the health and/or safety of the public, any person (including OMAFRA staff) or any animal, or there is a pattern of non-compliance that indicates a serious risk exists; a director appointed under the FSQA may suspend the licence to operate the plant until a hearing is held.

Hearings

After receiving an order or suspension and a notice of an opportunity for a hearing, a plant operator can request a hearing that will determine the status of his/her licence or the disposition of detained meat product. Outcomes may include:

• reinstatement of licence
• suspension of licence for a specified time
• revocation of licence
• product being released from detention
• product ordered condemned and disposed of

The hearing provides both the plant operator and OMAFRA with the opportunity to present their side of the issue. The hearing is heard by an adjudicator appointed as a director under the FSQA but independent of the licensing and compliance actions and decisions taken. After hearing both sides, the adjudicator will decide, based on factual evidence and the legislative and regulatory requirements, what action should be taken. Hearing decisions are posted on the ministry's website for 30 days.

Penalties

It is an offence to operate a plant while under suspension or to fail to comply with a compliance order or a condition of a licence, certificate or permit, or to fail to pay an administrative penalty. If convicted of such an offence, the penalty could include a fine of up to $25,000 for individuals per day for a first conviction and a fine of $100,000 for corporations per day for a first conviction. Maximum penalties increase for subsequent convictions.

Changes in plant status

When a licensed freestanding meat plant operator quits Category 2 activities (for example smoking or curing of meat products), surrenders his or her licence, and confirms this in writing to the ministry, OMAFRA notifies the local public health unit. The facility, now considered a "food premises", must meet the requirements of the Health Protection and Promotion Act instead of the FSQA, and the local public health unit will assume responsibility for inspecting it. For a complete list of Category 2 activities and requirements for licensing under the FSQA, operators should refer to the Meat Regulation (O. Reg. 31/05).

If the facility is later found to be conducting regulated activities under the FSQA and has not applied for re-licensing, it would be subject to compliance action, up to and including charges and detention of meat product.

Unlicensed operators carrying out regulated activities

When activities that require a licence are carried out by unlicensed operators, it is OMAFRA's Regulatory Compliance Unit (RCU) that follows up.

If someone becomes aware of illegal activity, such as slaughtering or conducting regulated processing activities or wholesaling meat products without a licence to operate as a meat plant, they may report it by calling 1-888-466-2372 ext. 6-4537 (1-888-4-OMAFRA ext. 6-4537). Individuals who contact the ministry with a complaint or a tip are not required to give their name and the information will be kept confidential.

What happens after a complaint has been filed

Once a complaint or tip has been received, regulatory compliance staff conduct a risk assessment, which helps determine how a complaint will be handled, depending on the circumstances and the nature of the alleged activity.

Cases may be assigned to a specific inspection program area, to regulatory compliance staff, or referred to the Agriculture Investigations Unit (Ministry of Natural Resources) for investigation. Responses range from educational/advisory visits or contacts, inspection monitoring and administrative hearings, through to investigation, potentially leading to prosecution in the provincial court system.

Once again, OMAFRA relies on progressive compliance principles when dealing with incidents that appear to be in contravention with the ministry's legislation. The response is proportionate to the risks identified during the risk assessment phase.

Investigations and court processes typically take a long time to complete, several months in some cases. Outcomes of court processes are posted on the ministry's website and sent to the media in the form of court bulletins.

Food safety is a joint responsibility. Together, plant operators and Ministry staff work to ensure meat produced and processed in provincially licensed facilities is safe. It is the plant operators' responsibility to know their requirements under the FSQA and its regulations and the Ministry's responsibility to follow progressive compliance actions to ensure requirements are being followed. For further information or clarification of any of the requirements in the FSQA and its regulations, plant operators should refer to the Ministry website or talk with the meat inspector appointed to their facility.