OTTAWA, ON – 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.
