Support for Implementation, Adaptation and Improvement of the CFIA's Establishment-Based Risk Assessment Model

The CFIA is modernizing its inspection system and developing a risk-based model for assigning inspection resources to the food establishments under its jurisdiction within Canada and for countries exporting to Canada. When such a model is put into practice, close monitoring is needed to check the model’s performance, identify and correct shortcomings and make the necessary changes. The CFIA has therefore agreed to have the model periodically updated so that the data used as its input are the latest and most pertinent, thus preserving its scientific value. The ERA model will be applied not only in Canadian food production facilities, but also in establishments that export to Canada. An initial evaluation of the steps needed to incorporate imports into the model has already been made. It quickly became apparent that significant changes with regard to certain risk factors would be necessary as serious limitations emerged as to the sources of data to feed the model. Adapting the ERA model to cover imports will thus be more complex than expected and will be the subject of work under this contract. Similarly, CFIA’s Science Branch has decided to develop a model on ERA lines, or an adaptation of it, for hatcheries under CFIA jurisdiction in Canada. Lastly, when the model’s performance is evaluated and updated, including inclusion of chemical hazards at every step in the mitigation measures and facility history, plans provide for in-depth reviews of the literature and applied research projects, targeting, for example, levels of pathogenic bacteria in certain foodstuffs.