Food Safety & Quality Act, 2001

Now you may be asking, "Where are we with the Food Safety & Quality Act?" OMAFRA Staff are completing a technical review of regulations specific to the dairy goat industry for inclusion under the new Food Safety & Quality Act (FS&QA). However, currently Food Inspection Branch, legal and policy staff, are working on the development of meat regulations under the FS&QA. This is the top priority of OMAFRA and was one of the significant recommendations made by Justice Haines in his report released July 22, 2004.

In January 2004, Justice Roland Haines was asked to examine the roles and responsibilities of various provincial ministries as well as local health units with respect to provincial abattoirs and free-standing meat processors. He was asked to assess the current regulatory standards and the co-ordination of inspection, compliance and enforcement. While Justice Haines concluded in his July report that the meat in Ontario is generally safe, he made numerous recommendations to improve the system further. The government has committed to implementing the recommendations.

Regulations developed under the Food Safety and Quality Act are being developed based upon an assessment of the risks along the food production and processing system. A risk-based system uses scientific knowledge to proactively identify the food safety risks along the entire food chain. After potential hazards have been identified, appropriate measures including regulatory requirements can be established to minimize those risks. Modern approaches to food safety from around the world will also be considered as regulations are developed, as well as aiming to make regulations more outcome-based, as opposed to the more traditional, prescriptive format.

Over the past year OMAFRA has conducted both a raw goat milk baseline study, and a dairy goat producer survey to be able to summarize and document industry practices, and identify issues that will help in developing appropriate standards and regulations.

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