Proposed Feeds Regulations (2022)

Summary#

This is a proposal from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency to repeal and replace the old Feeds Regulations, 1983 with new Feeds Regulations, 2022. The rules would require feed businesses to identify hazards and keep written preventive-control plans, add licensing and traceability requirements, change labelling rules, and are estimated to cost industry about $479.5 million (present value) over 10 years while producing about $7.7 million in monetized benefits (net cost $471.8 million). The proposal was published in the Canada Gazette on June 12, 2021.

What it does#

• Requires feed operators to identify biological, chemical and physical hazards and to keep and follow a written preventive control plan.
• Introduces licences for people who import feeds for sale, export feeds or move feeds between provinces.
• Reduces the number of mixed feeds that must be registered, while keeping approval rules for new or novel ingredients.
• Builds in traceability and record-keeping rules (one-step back/one-step forward style) and requires an identification code or lot number on labels.
• Updates labelling rules: health and safety information must be bilingual; allows more flexible, pre-approved claims without registration.
• Incorporates by reference nine documents (standards and tables) so they can be updated without remaking the regulation.
• Expands which animals are treated as “livestock” (adds species such as bison, cervids, bees, many water and aquaculture species) and removes mink and fox from the livestock list.
• Keeps some exemptions (for example, farmers who make non-medicated feed for their own animals remain generally exempt).
• Staggers the start of new rules: some provisions would wait one year after the regulations come into force, and other parts (including licence rules) would wait 18 months.

Who's affected#

• Commercial feed manufacturers (about 480 establishments).
• Ingredient manufacturers (about 2,619 establishments).
• On-farm feed manufacturers (about 17,123 farms that make feed).
• Feed retailers and distributors (about 1,500 outlets).
• Importers and exporters of feed.
• The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (will run new licensing, inspections and compliance programs).
• Consumers and livestock producers indirectly, through effects on feed cost and food safety.
• Most affected businesses are small: roughly 94% of stakeholders are small businesses; the analysis estimates about 16,798 impacted small businesses.

Why it matters#

• Better feed safety and faster response: written preventive-control plans, stronger traceability and clearer labelling aim to reduce contaminated feed reaching animals and, by extension, food safety risks for people.
• Faster recalls and clearer investigations: lot codes and record rules help trace where a feed came from and who got it.
• Costs for industry: the CFIA estimates implementation and ongoing costs of about $479.5 million (present value) over 10 years, mostly for preventive controls. That could raise costs for feed makers and possibly for farmers who buy feed.
• Fewer product registrations: the rules should cut the number of product registrations and related fees, a modest monetized benefit ($7.7 million present value over 10 years).
• Level playing field and trade alignment: the changes aim to treat domestic and imported feeds more consistently and align Canada with international approaches (for example, similar preventive-control systems in other jurisdictions).
• Small-business effects and transition time: the proposal includes delayed start dates and guidance tools aimed at small businesses. The CFIA estimates the incremental burden for small firms at about $58.7 million annualized (or about $3,497 per impacted small business) under its assumptions.
• It's a proposal, not law: this was published for comment and could be changed before final adoption. The notice in the proposal allowed a comment period of 90 days from publication.