Government of Canada launches consultation on boat-to-plate traceability for fish and seafood products

OTTAWA, ON, Aug. 13, 2021 /CNW/ - The Government of Canada is working in collaboration with Canada's seafood industry to ensure they remain competitive in the global marketplace and to protect consumers and fisheries by preventing seafood fraud and taking action to stop illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing.

In support of the December 2019 mandate commitment to develop a boat-to-plate traceability program that will help Canadian fishers better market their high-quality products, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA), along with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada and Fisheries and Oceans Canada, is launching a consultation on a discussion paper that will inform the development of proposals to enhance boat-to-plate traceability of fish and seafood in Canada.

The discussion paper was developed after engaging with various stakeholders in the fish and seafood sector, including industry, Indigenous organizations, non-government organizations (NGOs), academia and other levels of government. The Government of Canada is now seeking feedback on this discussion paper from a broad range of stakeholders, including consumers. This consultation is an opportunity to review the traceability systems currently in place and to help understand how these may be further developed to better respond to stakeholder's, including consumer and industry, needs.

Canadians and interested stakeholders are invited to share their views on 3 key themes explored in the discussion paper:

• Consumer protection and food safety (as it relates to fish and seafood)
• Sustainability and fisheries management related to traceability and combatting global illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing
• Market access, trade, and marketing of Canadian fish and seafood

The 120-day consultation is open for comment until December 11, 2021. 

The boat-to-plate traceability complements the Government of Canada's 2019 investment of $24.4 million over 5 years, under the Food Policy for Canada, to enhance the federal capacity to tackle  food fraud in order to protect consumers from deception and companies from unfair competition. With this funding, the CFIA is conducting inspections, collecting samples, testing foods for authenticity, and gathering intelligence to better target its oversight activities.

Quotes

"We are committed to tackling food fraud, including mislabelling and fish species substitution. When fraudulent products misrepresent their content, it can put Canadians at risk. By increasing our tracing of the seafood supply chain, there will be greater assurance that food products are accurately labelled, better protecting Canadians from unsafe or misrepresented food."

— The Honourable Patty Hajdu, Minister of Health

"Tackling food fraud is a key priority of the Food Policy for Canada which our government launched in 2019. It will not only protect consumers from buying deliberately mislabelled products, but also Canadian food businesses who must compete with inauthentic products. That is why we will continue to work with both consumers and industry to develop new tools to combat illegal and fraudulent practices throughout the seafood supply chain."

— The Honourable Marie-Claude Bibeau, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food

"Increased seafood traceability capacity makes sense not only for consumers, in terms of food safety, but also for our fishery and aquaculture sectors. It would increase the value and marketability of our sustainable commercial fishery and aquaculture operations, and help our domestic industry meet international market access requirements."

— The Honourable Bernadette Jordan, Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard

Quick facts

• Canada is home to the longest coastline and largest freshwater lake system in the world. Canadian marine and freshwaters contain more than 160 species of fish and seafood.
• Canada exports about $7 billion worth of fish and seafood annually and imports about $4 billion in fish and seafood from just over 140 countries around the world.
• Budget 2019 introduced funding for the CFIA to enhance efforts to tackle the issue of food fraud, including for fish and seafood. CFIA is working with Health Canada to address health and safety risks resulting from food misrepresentation through the Food Policy for Canada.
• The development of a boat-to-plate traceability program was included in the December 2019 mandate letter of the Honourable Patty Hadju, Minister of Health.
• The CFIA's enhanced fish species substitution surveillance (2019 to 2020) report showed 92% of fish samples taken were satisfactorily labelled with proper common names. Nine species of fish were targeted based on their likelihood to be mislabelled or substituted and their availability in the Canadian marketplace, including: butterfish, cod, halibut, kingfish, sea bass, snapper (red and other), sole, tuna and yellowtail.
• Canada works with others in the international community at the United Nations and other international organizations to advance sustainable fisheries and oceans management efforts.
• Illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing is estimated to account for approximately 30% of all fishing activity worldwide. According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, it represents up to 26 million tonnes of fish caught annually, valued at between $10 to $23 billion USD.

Associated links

• Discussion paper: Boat-to-plate traceability mandate commitment
• Join the discussion 
• Minister of Health's mandate letter

SOURCE Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA)