PFAC RegReport SpringVol12 No1 2020

Spring, 2020, Vol 12, Issue 1 Regulatory Report A PUBLICATION FOR MEMBERS OF THE PET FOOD ASSOCIATION OF CANADA C A F P This memorandum provides information about regulatory initiatives affecting the import and export of pet food and is based upon the most current information available at the time of publication. All rights reserved. Copyright 2019. Pet Food Association of Canada PO Box 238, Carleton Place, Ontario K7C 3P4 Tel: 416-447-9970 • Email: [email protected] • www.pfac.com Hello everyone! 2020 has been quite the interesting year so far, and I expect it will continue for quite some time, however the pet food industry will keep moving forward and PFAC will continue to do what it can to support its members Although the May Dialogue in-person meeting has been cancelled, I hope to see many of you register for the webinar series. As much of the world is focused on managing COVID-19, its impacts and considering all factors, this has slowed some of our momentum with our government partners, and some of the issues we have been trying to advance may take a backseat to the matter at hand. In the meantime, PFAC will continue to provide support for regulatory and trade challenges, but with the understanding that government response may be delayed, or resources could be re-focused on other things. I would like to mention two things coming up soon for PFAC members to finish my opening remarks. 1. Membership renewals are approaching, and notices will begin sending out in early May. We will do our best to ensure that this process is as easy for you as possible and consider any delays that may exist in processing your renewals. 2. Part of the renewal process is the introduction of our new software system, which we have been using for almost a year now to send emails, process event registrations, and other activities. This will be implemented for membership renewals as well, and it should make things easier, with an option for online payment and processing. MESSAGE FROM THE DIRECTOR, REGULATORY AFFAIRS AND GOVERNMENT RELATIONS Page 2 Regulatory Report A PUBLICATION FOR MEMBERS OF THE PET FOOD ASSOCIATION OF CANADA Spring, 2020, Vol 12, Issue 1 This memorandum provides information about regulatory initiatives affecting the import and export of pet food and is based upon the most current information available at the time of publication. All rights reserved. Copyright 2019. Pet Food Association of Canada PO Box 238, Carleton Place, Ontario K7C 3P4 Tel: 416-447-9970 • Email: [email protected] • www.pfac.com MESSAGE FROM THE DIRECTOR, REGULATORY AFFAIRS AND GOVERNMENT RELATIONS (continued) 3. At the same time, once your membership is renewed, you should gain access to a PFAC Member portal. What this means is that you will have access through this portal to various workspace areas, discussion forums, or an online store – depending on what your access is – working group, board, regulatory discussion group etc. As always, we are here to support you and have been doing just that through our regular advocacy and government relations, getting clear answers, suggesting improvements, or supporting consultations for changing policy. I am available any time by phone or email to help with your questions, so please feel free to contact me when you need support. Chris Nash Director, Regulatory Affairs and Government Relations [email protected] 613-797-5578 Page 3 Regulatory Report A PUBLICATION FOR MEMBERS OF THE PET FOOD ASSOCIATION OF CANADA Spring, 2020, Vol 12, Issue 1 This memorandum provides information about regulatory initiatives affecting the import and export of pet food and is based upon the most current information available at the time of publication. All rights reserved. Copyright 2019. Pet Food Association of Canada PO Box 238, Carleton Place, Ontario K7C 3P4 Tel: 416-447-9970 • Email: [email protected] • www.pfac.com REGULATORY AFFAIRS ADVISORY WORKING GROUP (RAAWG) The RAAWG is a group of volunteers who are appointed for a one-year term to help provide detailed analysis of the regulatory issues we work on. The group is active and there is an expectation that a volunteer will have the time to commit to review and comment as requested. There was a strategic re-focusing of this group for 2020, with some new members appointed, a formalized terms of reference, as well as objectives created. This information will all be transparent and shared, along with RAAWG agendas, minutes and some meeting materials through the member portal once launched. The RAAWG for 2020 is made up of the following people: Chris Nash PFAC Melanie Sippel Trouw Nutrition Canada Laurie Ross MARS Janice Baker Nestle Purina Canada Mary Ann Zamora Grepe Elmira Pet Products Sean McNear Blue Buffalo Daisy Yandoma Boreal Pet Food Robin Relyea R.C. Hagen Page 4 Regulatory Report A PUBLICATION FOR MEMBERS OF THE PET FOOD ASSOCIATION OF CANADA Spring, 2020, Vol 12, Issue 1 This memorandum provides information about regulatory initiatives affecting the import and export of pet food and is based upon the most current information available at the time of publication. All rights reserved. Copyright 2019. Pet Food Association of Canada PO Box 238, Carleton Place, Ontario K7C 3P4 Tel: 416-447-9970 • Email: [email protected] • www.pfac.com RAWWG OBJECTIVES 2020 - 2021 These are available in more detail through the member portal and will be ongoing until completed, assessed on an annual basis, and will be provided for feedback and prioritization to all members. Not currently in any order of priority. 1. Issue monitoring and signaling a. Member reporting of issues b. PFAC Tracking of issues and updates on status 2. Communication and Engagement a. Increased member engagement and feedback/communication b. Regulatory discussion forum c. Transparency for RAAWG materials and activities 3. BSE Status a. Support work of CFIA led BSE working group b. Work with CFIA to understand import policies, export changes as BSE status changes to negligible risk 4. Domestic Substance List a. Support the work of PFAC on the DSL project b. Facilitate information collection on substances 5. Change Control and Consultation a. Work towards improving relationship with CFIA to ensure proper consultation and notice for any changes REGULATORY AFFAIRS ADVISORY WORKING GROUP (RAAWG) (continued) Page 5 Regulatory Report A PUBLICATION FOR MEMBERS OF THE PET FOOD ASSOCIATION OF CANADA Spring, 2020, Vol 12, Issue 1 This memorandum provides information about regulatory initiatives affecting the import and export of pet food and is based upon the most current information available at the time of publication. All rights reserved. Copyright 2019. Pet Food Association of Canada PO Box 238, Carleton Place, Ontario K7C 3P4 Tel: 416-447-9970 • Email: [email protected] • www.pfac.com PFAC has created a regulatory issue reporting form for members to complete and submit on any issues that are ongoing, emerging, or predicted in any market either on regulatory challenges or trade irritants. This form will feed into a regulatory issue tracking sheet and will become a standing item on the RAAWG agenda, and will be shared with all members, with regular updates. The goal is to have a full picture of the challenge’s members face, aiming to be able to provide better focus on raising issues with CFIA and other government partners. At the time of writing, we are all facing the new reality of COVID-19 around the world. In this report, I will focus on what the Canadian government response has been in terms of economic support for businesses, response by CFIA, and how PFAC has been managing this evolving crisis. As you know, the COVID-19 situation changes daily, so this report will try to provide information that should remain relevant and unchanging. On March 11, 2020, the WHO declared COVID-19 as a global pandemic, and this allowed the Canadian federal and provincial governments the ability to implement some emergency response initiatives to protect people and support businesses through the crisis. PFAC was busy earlier in March with advocacy efforts to ensure that pet food was considered an essential service. Letters were written to all provincial and territorial premiers, mayors of major cities, as well as the Prime Minister’s office. We also worked contacts at allied associations to help push the message and was included in Food and Consumer Products of Canada (FCPC) communications on the topic of essential sectors. FCPC also put PFAC in touch with the Innovation, Science and Economic Development department to provide feedback and information on the nature of the North American supply chain, and how critical US-Canada pet food and ingredient trade is to both countries. We believe our efforts, and those of our REGULATORY ISSUES FORM AND TRACKING COV I D -19 N E W S Page 6 Regulatory Report A PUBLICATION FOR MEMBERS OF THE PET FOOD ASSOCIATION OF CANADA Spring, 2020, Vol 12, Issue 1 This memorandum provides information about regulatory initiatives affecting the import and export of pet food and is based upon the most current information available at the time of publication. All rights reserved. Copyright 2019. Pet Food Association of Canada PO Box 238, Carleton Place, Ontario K7C 3P4 Tel: 416-447-9970 • Email: [email protected] • www.pfac.com COVID-19 NEWS (continued) partners, have resulted in pet food retail and pet food manufacturing being deemed essential in most parts of Canada. As of the end of March, the federal government had implemented several different economic stimulus packages including: • Canadian economic wage subsidy – providing support to any business that had experienced decreased revenues of more than 30% of a subsidy for wages up to 75% on the first $58,700. • The Canadian emergency business account will provide loans up to $40,000 to organizations with a payroll between $50k and $1M in 2019, interest free for 1 year, and up to $10,000 forgiven in certain cases. • Canadian emergency response benefit – for self-employed, freelance, and working population who has been affected by COVID-19 may be eligible for up to $2000/month for 4 months. • For any laid off employees, they can also apply for EI, but the system is overloaded • Some funding will be fast tracked for struggling businesses under the Regional Development Agencies. • Individual provinces each have their own economic stimulus initiatives, so please make sure you are aware of what your provinces are offering for support. Provincial governments that declared a state of emergency also listed businesses and sectors that were declared as essential. As of March 30, all provinces had declared pet food and its supply chain as essential except for Manitoba, and Nova Scotia and the territories had not made any such declaration either. This report will not dwell much on the US situation, because it is complex and changes state to state, but also is changing rapidly. The US-Canadian border was closed for travel, but remains open for trade, which although delayed in some cases, remains business as usual. If there are any challenges you are facing related to COVID-19, please let us know. The CFIA has assured PFAC that signing of export certificates will continue as an essential part of their service to industry, and although there have had to be some changes for flexibility of district vets and facility staff working from home, as far as we can tell, business is as usual in this regard as well. Page 7 Regulatory Report A PUBLICATION FOR MEMBERS OF THE PET FOOD ASSOCIATION OF CANADA Spring, 2020, Vol 12, Issue 1 This memorandum provides information about regulatory initiatives affecting the import and export of pet food and is based upon the most current information available at the time of publication. All rights reserved. Copyright 2019. Pet Food Association of Canada PO Box 238, Carleton Place, Ontario K7C 3P4 Tel: 416-447-9970 • Email: [email protected] • www.pfac.com CFIA NEWS There has been one change to CFIA staff that is important to report. Daniel Miller is no longer part of the international branch and has been replaced by Lyzette Lamondin. She is now the Executive Director of the International Programs Directorate, responsible for import/export divisions for food, plants, and animals, which includes the animal products and by-products group. Lyzette was the Executive Director in charge of the Safe Food for Canadians Regulations, and is extremely reasonable and approachable. CFIA IMPORT UPDATES Nothing new since November to report at this time but stay tuned for the Dialogue Webinar Series webinar on May 12 for updates from the CFIA team. CFIA EXPORT UPDATES OVERALL GUIDANCE UPDATES These updates were provided by CFIA, but at time of writing this had not been updated on the CFIA website for Export Guidance. The CFIA provided updated guidance to industry that clarified how in-house certificates (HA2341) can be used to export pet food. When no negotiated export certificate exists, but an import permit is issued by the competent authority of the third country that include import conditions, this is acceptable. An HA2341 must be issued that includes import conditions written on the import permit, and no commercial risk letter is required, because the import permit is a legal document permitting the import of materials, if its conditions are met. In-house certificates can also be used if import conditions are supplied by the importer, and the exporter provide those conditions to the CFIA, however the exporter must assume all commercial risk related to that export. An in-house certificate can also be issued to mention that products were manufactured in Canada, for example, if no conditions must be met or are known. In this case, the certificate should not be shared with the competent authorities of Page 8 Regulatory Report A PUBLICATION FOR MEMBERS OF THE PET FOOD ASSOCIATION OF CANADA Spring, 2020, Vol 12, Issue 1 This memorandum provides information about regulatory initiatives affecting the import and export of pet food and is based upon the most current information available at the time of publication. All rights reserved. Copyright 2019. Pet Food Association of Canada PO Box 238, Carleton Place, Ontario K7C 3P4 Tel: 416-447-9970 • Email: [email protected] • www.pfac.com CFIA NEWS (continued) the importing country. Further, an in-house certificate can be used in the same way to comply with the provisions of the Health of Animals Act, where no certificate is required by the importing country (Hong Kong, Japan) but could be used to facilitate return of goods to Canada. In the latter case, the certificate need only be retained by the company for future use. TURKEY Although the EU regulations don’t apply, the requirements are the same, and a list of approved GMO events are to be listed in the guidelines. RUSSIA A list of approved establishments for export to Russia will be added to the guidelines. AUDITS AND INSPECTION CFIA removed Taiwan as one of the countries requiring an audit. China still remains as a country that would require an audit to approve a facility. CFIA also added Taiwan, Russia, and the USA as countries that require that a facility be approved for export, and that CFIA can provide that approval. CFIA also indicates in their updated guidance that pet food facilities will require an inspection on an annual or bi-ennial basis, as dictated by the requirements of the importing country. They also add that when a satisfactory inspection is complete, the facility is eligible for export and a copy of the inspection checklist must be provided to the facility. Detailed changes were sent out previously to members, and the guidelines will be updated online shortly by CFIA. APPROVAL NUMBERS This notice was posted on the CFIA website as of February 5, 2020 indicating that the CFIA was changing approval numbers and outlining several criteria and some information about this initiative. https://inspection.gc.ca/animal-health/terrestrial-animals/exports/2020-02-05/ eng/1581007779897/1581007877110 Page 9 Regulatory Report A PUBLICATION FOR MEMBERS OF THE PET FOOD ASSOCIATION OF CANADA Spring, 2020, Vol 12, Issue 1 This memorandum provides information about regulatory initiatives affecting the import and export of pet food and is based upon the most current information available at the time of publication. All rights reserved. Copyright 2019. Pet Food Association of Canada PO Box 238, Carleton Place, Ontario K7C 3P4 Tel: 416-447-9970 • Email: [email protected] • www.pfac.com CFIA NEWS (continued) By February 20, 2020, the CFIA had notified PFAC of this notice. It was vague, unclear, and there were many unanswered questions. After further discussion and advocacy by PFAC, the following clarification was received from Dr. Suminder Sawhney: As per our discussion about Change in Approval numbers, I would like to clarify the following points with regard to the notice to industry: • The notice applies to all the Canadian industry for export of Animal products and by-products including pet food industry. • The change of establishment approval number is voluntary for all companies. If a company does not want to change the number, it can continue to use the current approval number for exports. • There is no deadline and the changes will be brought on a case by case basis, when the companies agree to it. • The CFIA will engage and work with foreign competent authorities in order to have smooth transition to avoid any disruption for trade. ALGERIA CONDITIONS For new shipments to Algeria, as of January 1, 2020, all imports of goods into Algeria will be on a free on board (FOB) basis. This includes agriculture, agri-food and seafood products. Exporters will have responsibility of the goods until the port of shipment, and importers will take responsibility of the goods until the port of destination in Algeria. Algerian banks will only process invoices based on FOB after December 31, 2019. Canadian exporters remain responsible for securing all required documentation prior to exporting goods to another country. Algerian operators must favor the use of the national maritime companies (established under Algerian law) for the maritime transport of goods, whenever possible. Operators should first approach the national ship-owners, to verify the existence of maritime links and services with the countries of dispatch, before the execution of any import operation. Page 10 Regulatory Report A PUBLICATION FOR MEMBERS OF THE PET FOOD ASSOCIATION OF CANADA Spring, 2020, Vol 12, Issue 1 This memorandum provides information about regulatory initiatives affecting the import and export of pet food and is based upon the most current information available at the time of publication. All rights reserved. Copyright 2019. Pet Food Association of Canada PO Box 238, Carleton Place, Ontario K7C 3P4 Tel: 416-447-9970 • Email: [email protected] • www.pfac.com CFIA NEWS (continued) Operators are invited to adopt, as a priority, the FOB incoterm when possible. In cases where the invoice is presented CF (cost and freight), it must be detailed and broken down into three parts: the goods, the freight and the insurance. ARGENTINA UPDATES We received information from our ABINPET colleagues in Brazil regarding Argentina and some changes that occurred in that market with respect to BSE status. The following was received and also sent to CFIA, however CFIA has informed us that they have some other issues to iron out with Argentina. • Sanitary (Veterinary) Certificate There are two options depending on the pet food composition: without (6.1.) or with ruminant ingredients (6.2.) For pet food with ruminant ingredients SENASA is separating: a. Products containing ruminant ingredients from OIE negligible BSE risk countries where no BSE cases have been notified, and b. Products containing ruminant ingredients from OIE negligible BSE risk countries where BSE cases (we are assuming atypical cases) have been notified or from controlled BSE risk countries. For both options a) or b) the requirements are listing details of the ruminant raw materials, country of origin information and on all lots. • SENASA control to detect the presence of ruminant proteins (cross contamination) in pet foods without ruminant products. New rules were also described that include pet food products, to control and detect the presence of ruminant proteins in products for animals without ruminant proteins. It is important to mention that Resolution 746 from June 2019 mentions that it is no longer necessary to run ELISA or PCR testing in pet food products without ruminant proteins in its composition when they come from countries classified by the OIE as negligible or controlled risk (which is the case of Canada). Page 11 Regulatory Report A PUBLICATION FOR MEMBERS OF THE PET FOOD ASSOCIATION OF CANADA Spring, 2020, Vol 12, Issue 1 This memorandum provides information about regulatory initiatives affecting the import and export of pet food and is based upon the most current information available at the time of publication. All rights reserved. Copyright 2019. Pet Food Association of Canada PO Box 238, Carleton Place, Ontario K7C 3P4 Tel: 416-447-9970 • Email: [email protected] • www.pfac.com CFIA NEWS (continued) At the same time, the CFIA is working on a couple issues regarding the above, including to: • Continue pushing back to fix another issue related to the ante and post-mortem exam, OR • Propose to attach to the certificate an annex listing all ruminant materials and the country of origin for each lot contained in the shipment. Feedback received from members, that option 2 was more practical, was shared with the CFIA, and work is ongoing. KOREA UPDATES Near the end of March, some clarifications from Korea were shared by CFIA. These include: 1. In case the exported pet food contains Vitamins coated or not with gelatin, there are 2 options on how to complete the box “animal species” on the certificate: a. Omit the ingredients of the vitamins (porcine, ovine, etc.), because vitamins are not subject to quarantine. OR b. If the manufacturer or CFIA thinks it’s necessary to state the ingredients of vitamins, please specify to avoid any misinterpretation. For example, “ovine (vitamin D3), porcine (vitamin D3), etc.” 2. Regarding the packaging, plain packages (e.g. blank white bags) are not allowed. All exported products must be packaged ready for retail showing a proper design, product name, barcode, etc. In other words the products must be packaged in regular packaging that are used for retail in Canada. The repackaging in Korea for smaller portions is allowed only if the imported package is retail-ready. Page 12 Regulatory Report A PUBLICATION FOR MEMBERS OF THE PET FOOD ASSOCIATION OF CANADA Spring, 2020, Vol 12, Issue 1 This memorandum provides information about regulatory initiatives affecting the import and export of pet food and is based upon the most current information available at the time of publication. All rights reserved. Copyright 2019. Pet Food Association of Canada PO Box 238, Carleton Place, Ontario K7C 3P4 Tel: 416-447-9970 • Email: [email protected] • www.pfac.com CFIA NEWS (continued) VIETNAM The CFIA informed us that Vietnam would be accepting pet food from Canada, with the following proposed conditions: 1. No ruminant protein at all 2. All raw material (including ingredients) must be of Canadian origin PFAC provided input from member feedback to the CFIA that proposed: 1. Ruminant protein allowed from countries with BSE negligible risk status. 2. All raw materials and ingredients must be of Canadian origin, or imported legally into Canada And at the same time, PFAC asked Global Affairs Canada to review the CPTPP trade deal to see what provisions there was regarding science-based conditions on trade. Work is still ongoing, with no further updates at this time. In February, Chris Nash met with Fred Gorrell, Assistant Deputy Minister of the AAFC International Affairs Branch, and in charge of the AAFC/CFIA joint International Branch. Lyzette Lamondin, Executive Director of international programs at CFIA was also in attendance. The meeting was a casual discussion about the pet food industry in Canada and integrated supply chain throughout North America. We discussed some key markets and their status, but also some general issues the industry is facing with government support. The key takeaway from this meeting is that Lyzette is far more approachable than her predecessor and had some good ideas on how best to move forward with important initiatives such as e-certification were discussed. A good working relationship was formed, and during the COVID-19 crisis, Lyzette has been approachable and responsive. GOVERNMENT AND STAKEHOLDER RELATIONS Page 13 Regulatory Report A PUBLICATION FOR MEMBERS OF THE PET FOOD ASSOCIATION OF CANADA Spring, 2020, Vol 12, Issue 1 This memorandum provides information about regulatory initiatives affecting the import and export of pet food and is based upon the most current information available at the time of publication. All rights reserved. Copyright 2019. Pet Food Association of Canada PO Box 238, Carleton Place, Ontario K7C 3P4 Tel: 416-447-9970 • Email: [email protected] • www.pfac.com Make sure to join us for the Dialogue Webinar series, Webinar Two to get more detailed updates on t he US from PFI. In the meantime, this report will focus o n the trade deals that the US has secured with China, and what those mean for the pet food industry. US CHINA AGREEMENT PHASE 1 This first phase of the agreement was signed on January 15, 2020. The key achievements for the US under this agreement include: •China has agreed to lift its ban on US pet food containing ruminant ingredients and elimination of PCR testing of pet food containing ruminant ingredients •China allowing US pet food containing poultry products to be imported •Fast trac k the pending registrations through GACC to include 24 more pet food facilities • No requirement or submission of any pet food facility questionnaire for registration purposes, other than a facility that China may be auditing •Allow the use of animal origin ingredients used in pet food as long as those are legally impor ted into the US, meet US domestic requirements and are traceable to country of origin • US and China to complete a new import agreement •For new facility registrations, the US will pro vide GACC with updates and China will accept within 20 business days • There will be no longer routine audits or inspections of US facilities by China, but China may still perform risk-based audits according to international standards CUSMA As we know, in November 2018, the US, Canada and Mexico all signed the new agreement. On January 29, 2020, President Trump signed the agreement into law. In December 2019, Mexico passed the agreement in their Senate. Because of COVID-19, the House of Commons, and Senate went through all the stages and the legislation to implement the agreement received Royal Assent on March 13, 2020. USA UPDATES Page 14 Regulatory Report A PUBLICATION FOR MEMBERS OF THE PET FOOD ASSOCIATION OF CANADA Spring, 2020, Vol 12, Issue 1 This memorandum provides information about regulatory initiatives affecting the import and export of pet food and is based upon the most current information available at the time of publication. All rights reserved. Copyright 2019. Pet Food Association of Canada PO Box 238, Carleton Place, Ontario K7C 3P4 Tel: 416-447-9970 • Email: [email protected] • www.pfac.com WORLD MARKETS BREXIT The UK left the EU on January 31, 2020 and is now in a transition period with the EU until at least December 31, 2020. During this transition, Canadian firms will see no difference or change in how they trade with the UK. Canada has agreed to let the UK remain as a party to CETA during the transition period. Any future Canada-UK trade agreement will be influenced by the UK-EU relationship, so as far as it looks right now, Canada is in a holding pattern, and with COVID-19, things may be delayed even further. It may happen that an extension is granted to the transition, so that trade can go on as uninterrupted as possible, but members who export to the UK should prepare for disruption in case there is no extension and no bilateral agreement with Canada at the start of 2021. CHINA MEETING WITH ALBIBABA OWNED TMALL.COM Chris Nash met with a business development representative from Tmall.com to discuss opportunities for Canadian pet food companies. PFAC made it clear that the main roadblock to gaining further access to more Canadian companies into China was the slow facility approval process, and any support or advocacy on influencing the Chinese government on speeding this process up is the way forward. Obviously PFAC cannot do this but has made a couple contacts now with people in China who may be able to provide some advice or further contacts to try to advocate on behalf of our members. Tmall Global will provide an informational webinar to PFAC to share with its members by the end of April. With COVID-19, things are delayed further, however China is starting to get back to business, and there has been a supportive relationship during this crisis between Canada and China in sharing supplies and scientific expertise. Perhaps these showings of good faith can reduce the political tensions that exist enough to create a window of opportunity for pet food to gain further access. It remains to be seen. Page 15 Regulatory Report A PUBLICATION FOR MEMBERS OF THE PET FOOD ASSOCIATION OF CANADA Spring, 2020, Vol 12, Issue 1 This memorandum provides information about regulatory initiatives affecting the import and export of pet food and is based upon the most current information available at the time of publication. All rights reserved. Copyright 2019. Pet Food Association of Canada PO Box 238, Carleton Place, Ontario K7C 3P4 Tel: 416-447-9970 • Email: [email protected] • www.pfac.com WORLD MARKETS (continued) OIE The CFIA is working on developing a submission to the OIE for review of Canada’s BSE status. PFAC has been invited to be part of the working group of industry- government that is undertaking the process of informing the submission. The expected timeline for the submission, review, and hopefully adoption of a change to negligible status is as follows: July 2020 CFIA provides submission to OIE working group Fall 2020 OIE Working group completes initial review Winter 2021 OIE Scientific review of submission May 2021 Adoption by OIE of Canada’s request for change of BSE status It goes without saying that this is a critical process that will have significant positive impacts to the Canadian pet food market. PFAC will support this working group as best as we can and will be requesting feedback and information from members to do so. 2020 Due to COVID-19 the GAPFA meeting scheduled for June in Brussels has been postponed until 2021. GAPFA will still hold regular online meetings and will hold its general assembly meeting on as a virtual meeting and deal with key statutory items. FOOD SAFETY AND TRADE FACILITATION WORKSTREAM OBJECTIVES/PROJECTS 1. Pet food inclusion in the OIE feed chapter is ongoing. 2. The following will be prioritized by GAPFA: a. Mapping tariff rates on traded pet food b. Information sharing about non-tariff trade barriers c. African Swine fever d. Product registration simplification (on a regional basis) e. Salmonella in ingredients and finished products GAPFA PRIORITIES AND PROJECTS Page 16 Regulatory Report A PUBLICATION FOR MEMBERS OF THE PET FOOD ASSOCIATION OF CANADA Spring, 2020, Vol 12, Issue 1 This memorandum provides information about regulatory initiatives affecting the import and export of pet food and is based upon the most current information available at the time of publication. All rights reserved. Copyright 2019. Pet Food Association of Canada PO Box 238, Carleton Place, Ontario K7C 3P4 Tel: 416-447-9970 • Email: [email protected] • www.pfac.com GAPFA PRIORITIES AND PROJECTS (continued) NUTRITION WORKSTREAM 1. Development of best practice document on dog and cat veterinary diets 2. Follow discussions on inorganic phosphorous 3. Carbohydrates 4. Following discussions on DCM 5. Fact sheets on nutrition 6. Complete and balanced until end of shelf-life Due to COVID-19, the in-person Dialogue meeting in Ottawa has been cancelled. It will be replaced with a webinar series of two webinars. DIALOGUE 2020 WEBINAR SERIES May 12 CFIA and ECCC (DSL) May 26 Global Affairs Canada (Trade Commission + Market Access) and Peter Tabor 2020 PFAC CONFERENCE At this time (end of March), we are hoping that the PFAC conference will go ahead as planned, however, our plans will be dictated by World policies on borders and travel restrictions. We will of course keep monitoring the COVID-19 situation in Canada and the US, and keep people updated as we get closer to summer months. 50th Anniversary November 3-4, 2020 Rimrock Resort Hotel 300 Mountain Ave, Banff, AB T1L 1J2 UPCOMING EVENTS C A F P 5 0 Y E A R S C E L E B R A T I N G