May 4, 2016

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) signed an arrangement with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) and the Department of Health Canada (Health Canada) recognizing each other’s food safety systems as comparable to each other. The arrangement was signed at a meeting of the FDA-CFIA Health Canada Joint Committee on Food Safety. This is the second time that the FDA has recognized a foreign food safety system as comparable, the first being New Zealand in 2012. A similar system recognition process is underway between FDA and Australia and the European Commission.

By recognizing each other’s systems, FDA, CFIA, and Health Canada, have confidence that they can leverage each other’s science-based regulatory systems. For example, each partner will consider the oversight of the other when prioritizing inspection activities, but the benefits go beyond inspection and admissibility. Systems Recognition establishes a framework for regulatory cooperation in a variety of areas that range from scientific collaboration to outbreak response.

Full article here: http://www.fda.gov/Food/NewsEvents/ConstituentUpdates/ucm498611.htm