Mapping Out the New Food Regulatory Landscape for Canada

Online, September 4, 2013 (Newswire.com) - In November last year, the 'Safe Food for Canadians Act' received Royal Assent, effectively paving the way for broad changes and improvements for food safety in Canada. Bringing this Act into force, however, requires work on several fronts including developing new food regulations.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) is currently consulting on a range of modernization initiatives and will conduct an interactive workshop on October 21st in an effort to bring developments towards the implementation of the Act into limelight and share its recommendations with the industry stakeholders.

This workshop will provide attendees with an overview of each of these modernization initiatives and allow them the opportunity to provide feedback to CFIA on issues including new food regulatory framework; regulations for imported food sector products and improvements to food labeling.

Food manufacturers; processors; producers; retailers; food services as well as wholesalers and distributors are invited to attend this workshop, which will be addressed by top CFIA officials responsible for Regulatory & Trade Policy, Labeling and Claims, and Imported and Manufactured products.

The CFIA workshop is a precursor to a larger discussion forum, the 4th Annual Food Regulatory and Quality Assurance summit, scheduled on 22 & 23 October in Toronto, where more than 150 top decision makers from government and private sector organizations are scheduled to converge and debate the ongoing and upcoming challenges facing the industry.

"Ensuring food protection and safety is a critical component within the supply chain for all manufacturers, vendors, and consumers", says Steve Edwards, Senior Recall Strategist at Stericycle ExpertRECALL from Indianapolis, IN. "The conference focus on regulations, risk, and brand protection is key to having a transparent organization to assist with a technologically advanced supply chain", adds Edwards who will be speaking at the summit on establishing an action plan for recall strategies.

Tom Graham, National Inspection Manager, Canadian Food Inspection Agency; Maureen Kirkpatrick, Standards Coordinator, The Big Carrot; Martino Brambilla, President, Embassy Flavours and Bill Gill, Assistant Vice President of Environmental Affairs, Smithfield Food are amongst more than 20 leading stakeholders that will share key insights into the latest developments at the conference.

Ron Doering, Counsel at Gowlings and former President of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, will chair the 2-day conference.

Food safety & transparency; environmental compliance; import & export challenges as well as recalls are some of the key issues this year's conference will endeavor to tackle.

What's further unique at the 4th edition of Food Regulatory & Quality Assurance summit this year is the opportunity for the attendees to network with some of the leading North American suppliers of technologies and solutions, including Stericycle ExpertSOLUTIONS; Alchemy Systems; NSF-GFTC; Maheu&Maheu; Orkin Canada; SAI Global; Agriculture & Food Laboratory at the University of Guelph and Safefood 360.

The organizers of the summit, Strategy Institute, have confirmed that there has been an increased interest in this year's event from the industry and have urged the industry stakeholders to confirm participation early on order to avoid disappointment closer to the event dates as the delegate placed are limited.

For detailed agenda and registrations, interested industry professionals may visit www.foodregulationcanada.com

ABOUT THIS CONFERENCE:
The 4th Annual Food Regulatory and Quality Assurance Summit is part of a series of annual events designed to catalyze innovation enabling Canadian food companies to enhance compliance and quality. Building upon one of North America's most prestigious food conferences, this event engages stakeholders in dialogue to improve Canadian food safety and competitiveness.

Participants have not only benefited from the experience of the most storied Fortune 500 food brands, but also from leading government organizations such as Health Canada, CFIA, USDA, and the FDA.
www.foodregulationcanada.com

For further details on the conference, contact:
Mustafa Iqbal
Senior Marketing Manager
The Strategy Institute
Toll Free: 1-866-298-9343 Ext: 206
401 Richmond Street West, Suite 401
Toronto ON M5V3A8
Mustafa@strategyinstitute.com

ABOUT STRATEGY INSTITUTE:
Strategy Institute is the proud facilitator of information sharing for the public good for over 15 years, striving to strengthen the foundation of safety, health, and wellness of Canadians through annual conferences such as Food Safety, Food Regulatory and Quality Assurance, Patient Experience, Emergency and Disaster Planning for Schools, and many more.
www.strategyinstitute.com