Licences and registrations
Importing food commercially into Canada is licensed activity. These are the registrations that govern it, and their current status.
| Licence / registration | Issued by | Reference | Notes |
|---|
Key requirements we work to
Safe Food for Canadians licence
An SFC licence issued by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency is required to import food commercially. It must be held before a shipment reaches the border — it cannot be obtained there — and the licence number appears on every import declaration. CFIA’s published service standard for processing an application is 70 business days, so it is not something that can be arranged around a shipment.
CARM and the import-export account
Registration in the CBSA Assessment and Revenue Management portal is mandatory, with an import-export (RM) programme account. Since 1 January 2026 a customs broker can no longer release or account for goods under their own business number: the importer must be registered and delegate authority to the broker, or shipments stall and late-accounting penalties follow.
Preventive Control Plan and traceability
We hold a written Preventive Control Plan covering hazard analysis, control measures and verification. Traceability runs one-up and one-back — every lot traces to its immediate supplier and its immediate customer — as the Safe Food for Canadians Regulations require.
Labelling
Consumer packaging for the Canadian market carries English and French text, a Nutrition Facts table, a full ingredient list, allergen declaration and country of origin. This catches more importers than any other single requirement; we check artwork before production, not after.
Meat and dairy
Meat and dairy move only between countries whose inspection systems recognise each other, from an approved establishment, accompanied by a health certificate from the competent authority at origin. These requirements are materially stricter than for dry goods, and we confirm routes case by case before quoting.
Product-specific requirements
Requirements differ by commodity and origin. We check each line against CFIA’s Automated Import Reference System before quoting, and state anything unusual on the quotation.
Food safety controls
Audits and documents
Buyers onboarding us as a supplier can request the Preventive Control Plan, recall procedure, halal certificate and specification sheets under NDA. Site visits to the Calgary warehouse are welcome by arrangement.