What progress has been made on moving Ontario towards a science-based food safety system?
• Ontario has made progress by proclaiming the Food Safety and Quality Act and introducing a new, stronger meat regulation. This addressed the first recommendation in Justice Haines’ report, and several others, including licensing and regulating freestanding (non federally-registered) meat processors. • The Meat Regulation (O. Reg. 31/05) came into effect June 1, 2005. The Meat Regulation is based on the National Meat and Poultry Regulation and Code (NMPRC), a science-based regulation which aims to achieve consistency across all provinces and ensure that all meat sold in Canada meets the same high standards of safety and quality. • OMAFRA has developed the “Advantage Series” of food safety programs, which cover the agri-food production system from farm to fork. These programs are aimed at helping small and medium-sized enterprises implement a food safety management system based on the internationally recognized principles of HACCP (Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point). A range of to
