On November 22, 2012, Bill S-11, Safe Food for Canadians Act
(the Act) received royal assent. The Act is the most recent
attempt by the Canadian government to modernize the Canada’s
food regulatory scheme administered and enforced by the Canadian
Food Inspection Agency (CFIA). The Act aims to accomplish this
through the consolidation of the Meat Inspection Act, the Fish
Inspection Act, the Canadian Products Act, and the food
provisions of the Consumer Packaging and Labelling Act, each of
which is to be repealed. The Food and Drugs Act will remained
unchanged and continue to operate to provide “overarching
protection for consumers from any foods that are unsuitable for
consumption”. The Act, however, does more than merely
consolidate existing legislative measures. In an effort to
modernize the regulatory scheme, the Act includes a number of
new and expanded provisions and powers, including those related
trade, both international and interprovincial, of “food
commodities”. “Food commodities” is defined to mean