Regulation changes are finally coming to the Canadian feed industry, a speaker at the Saskatchewan Pork Industry Symposium told producers.
The current practices date back to 1983, when a different Trudeau was the prime minister of Canada.
Melissa Dumont, executive director at the Animal Nutrition Association of Canada, said the process has taken longer than she expected. Eight years ago, Dumont thought regulatory changes were right around the corner.
“In 2010, our association put forward the case to modernize the regulations to the CFIA (Canadian Food Inspection Agency) to say, ‘Look, we can’t keep doing what we are doing; it’s detrimental to our producers; it’s detrimental to the feed industry and it’s making us less and less competitive on the global market. So, let’s modernize.’”
In 2011, the CFIA said, “We hear you.”
“Back then, they said one to three years, so I had a lot less gray hair when they announced this than I do today,” Dumont said.
Since 2011, Dumont has attended 19 consultations on the modernization of regulations.
“I am consulted out. Feed is not sexy, so no one really cares about it unless you are paying for it. It kept getting kind of pushed aside as other priorities came through the government.”
The summer of 2019 brought good news.
“We were happy to see the CFIA finally published a notice of intent, saying, ‘You know what, we are planning in winter 2020 to finally show you guys your new regulations and the first true consultation on those regulations to move forward.’
“I should tell them winter has already arrived throughout Canada, so they can release that now,” Dumont said with a laugh.
She said the final publication for the new regulations should come out in 2021. She said mid-2023 is the target date for the full implementation of the new regulations.
What are the changes?
*Mandatory hazard identification and preventative control plans;
*Incorporation by reference (claims, contaminants, nutrient maximums and guarantees;
*Change in ingredient approvals and product registrations;
*Recognition of veterinary health products for inclusion in feed.
*Removal of customer formula feeds.
Changes for nutrient minimums and maximums are significant.
*There will no longer be minimum nutrient levels.
*Maximum levels will be based on when where can be an impact to the health and safety of livestock, humans or the environment. For feed purposes, there cannot be therapeutic levels (Health Canada legislation).
*Producers will no longer be allowed to request higher levels of minerals and vitamins over the CFIA’s maximum levels (removal of customer formula feeds).
Dumont said a major victory is the CFIA’s loosening of the reins in its approval process.
“I think this is where, as an industry, with the new regs, we are really going to come out the winner,” Dumont said. “Right now, getting anything on the Canadian marketplace is a minimum a year, and that’s if you have all your ducks in a row and everything goes well.
“The reality is we need it today. We needed it yesterday; we needed it 10 years ago. We need to catch-up to the global marketplace.”
“One of the big pieces is the decrease in the number of products being registered by the CFIA. There are so many feeds and products that have zero risk, and yet because of the way the regulations were written in 1983, the CFIA still has to review every single one.
“A lot of those are going to be taken out of their mandate. We have other controls in place to manage them. That is going allow them to apply resources in other places like new and innovative ingredients that we want on the market in Canada.”
She said trials in other parts of the world should be and will be adopted in Canada.

“When we are doing trials, we are doing trials for the global market place and (conversely) what gets approved in the EU and the U.S. should be good enough for Canada. They are securitized as much as anybody else’s, so the CFIA finally moved to ‘You know what, we can recognize some of those comparable jurisdictions.’”
“So, it is not going to take two, three, four five years, $2 million for new trials and the inability of companies to never get these products on the market.”
She said the recognition of veterinary health products is another step in the right direction.
“This is a tool Health Canada already has in place and because the feed regulations don’t say veterinary health products are allowed in feed, we can’t use it today. Now, we have products approved that are low-risk drugs that in dosage form for the use in livestock and poultry. These products really promote the health and welfare of animals.”
She said it is good news that there will no longer be minimum requirements for nutrients or vitamins.
“The CFIA finally realized we were intentionally polluting because of regulations that needed to go away … We have now moved away from the CFIA regulating nutrition. That is an industry job and they are going to regulate animal health and safety and human health and safety. So, the maximum nutrients will be set at levels where there will be an impact to animal health, livestock health or the environment.
“My message is 95 per cent really good news; things are going to change for the better. The other five per cent we need to adjust. We are trying to lobby and negotiate with government as much as possible to try to ensure we can continue to be completive or even more completive when we have access to the same tools that competitors do — in the U.S. specifically.
Dumont said this is an opportunity to review the cutting-edge FeedAssure program.

“We want to make sure the program continues to be the gold standard for the Canadian feed industry and we respond to new industry threats.
“We need to make sure the program is flexible, specifically around bio security, bio terrorism, and food fraud which are some of the areas at which we are at the highest risk as a global industry. We need to mitigate those risks.
“Traceability management, commitment, risk assessment and supplier approval are all pieces we are going to be enhancing in the new program to make sure that we are in the FeedAssure certified facilities and we are manufacturing the safest feed possible for our producers.
“This program is meant to exceed regulatory requirements when it comes to feed safety. It’s not just the basics; it’s trying to be as safe as possible and mitigate as many risks as many threats as possible in the Canadian industry.”
Winter can’t come soon enough for those in the industry. •
— By Cam Hutchinson