Bill S-11: Safe Food For Canadians Act

On June 7, 2012 the federal government introduced the proposed Safe Food for Canadians Act (the Act). The proposed Act which must be passed by Parliament and may be subject to change, would apply to all persons and establishments that manufacture, prepare, store, package or label foods and/or beverages, as would its associated regulations.It remains unclear what these regulations would look like.

As part of a wider Government of Canada effort to modernize the federal regulatory framework for food safety, the Act's primary purpose is to make food as safe as possible for Canadians, in part by targeting unsafe practices, increasing penalties and requiring licensing and registration. If enacted, it would consolidate and replace the Canadian Agricultural Products Act, the Meat Inspection Act, the Fish Inspection Act, and the food provisions of the Consumer Packaging and Labelling Act. The federal government has indicated that the Act would provide more consistency with