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Sep 26, 2024 · The CFIA takes food fraud seriously and its oversight activities centre around 3 themes: prevent, detect and deter. This report summarizes the work done under each of these themes and covers the Government of Canada's 2022 to 2023 fiscal year, which was from April 1, 2022 to March 31, 2023.
As part of its food fraud initiative, during fiscal year 2021 to 2022, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) conducted a number of activities to prevent, detect and deter food fraud. This report summarizes these activities.
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Canadian laws prohibit the misrepresentation of food.
May 12, 2022 – Ottawa, Ontario
Canadian laws prohibit the misrepresentation of food. Mislabelling, adulteration and substitution of food are forms of misrepresentation and may constitute food fraud. To this end, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) is helping ensure food is properly labelled and safe to consume, and that businesses can compete fairly in the Canadian marketplace.
The CFIA's newly published Food Fraud Annual Report: 2020 to 2021 outlines the results of its enhanced surveillance activities to test the authenticity of 5 foods: honey, fish, olive oil, other expensive oils (such as, sesame seed oil, grapeseed oil, coconut oil and others), and spices. Overall, CFIA's testing showed 4 of the 5 commodities had satisfactory results above 87% while expensive oils (other than olive oil) had 66% satisfactory results. These 5 foods were selected as they are commonly reported as products likely to be misrepresented.
"Consumers expect food labels to be truthful and accurate. Through the Canadian Food Inspection Agency and Health Canada our government is working closely to tackle food fraud so consumers can trust that food is accurately represented and safe."
– The Honourable Jean-Yves Duclos, Minister of Health
"Food fraud is a tactic that deceives consumers and is unfair to our agriculture and agri-food producers. Our government takes this situation seriously and is working to ensure that we maintain a fair competitive environment for the benefit of the general public and the vast majority of entrepreneurs who comply with regulatory requirements."
– The Honourable Marie-Claude Bibeau, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food
"Retailers understand the importance of consumers having trust in the food they purchase and knowing it is exactly what they pay for. That is why grocery retailers continue to invest in fraud prevention programs to further strengthen measures, and work closely with CFIA, suppliers, manufacturers and producers. This study highlights the ongoing need for all partners along the food supply chain to work together to ensure food integrity."
– Jason McLinton, Vice President, Grocery Division and Regulatory Affairs, Retail Council of Canada
•In 2020 to 2021, the CFIA tested a total of 525 samples for authenticity. Its enhanced targeted sampling yielded the following satisfactory results:
•88.5% honey
•91.2% fish
•87.8% olive oil
•66.2% other expensive oils (such as, sesame seed oil, grapeseed oil, coconut oil, almond oil and others)
•92.9% spices
- Canadian Food Inspection Agency
Mar 2, 2023 · "Our government takes food fraud seriously. When food is misrepresented, it prevents consumers from making an informed choice, and can create an uneven, unfair market. This report highlights the excellent work being done to protect consumers and food businesses from this deceptive practice."
- Canadian Food Inspection Agency
This report is an overview of the food fraud initiative activities performed by CFIA during the 2020 to 2021 fiscal year, with a focus on the results of surveillance of certain high-risk commodities (honey, fish, olive oil, other expensive oils and spices) susceptible to food fraud.
Most Canadians indicated they were likely to encounter food fraud with products imported from other countries to Canada, while food products made in Canada were least likely to be seen as misrepresented. Canadians were confident in the ability of the Government of Canada to manage food fraud.
Dec 7, 2020 · The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) is working to identify and mitigate risks in the food supply chain so that Canadians are protected from food misrepresentation, which is a common form of food fraud.
