February 1, 2012 - Canada's food industry and government regulators have an opportunity to work as partners to improve the Canadian food regulatory system, according to a report released today by the Conference Board of Canada.
While the system is strong and considered world-class in achieving public policy outcomes, there is still room for improvement, the report says.
"As a top-tier food producer, Canada is starting from a position of strength," the Conference Board's Michael Bloom says in a release. "If we build on our current advantages by improving our regulatory systems, we will have the best of both worlds - internationally competitive food companies and a safe regulatory environment."
The report, titled All Together Now: Regulation and Food Industry Performance, says both industry and government need a solid and enabling regulatory framework that protects public interests in safe food, while also supporting competitiveness in the global marketplace. If the partnership is weak, either of these objectives may be compromised, the report warns.
Food is one of the most heavily regulated sectors in Canada, with laws, regulations and administrative procedures coming from all levels of government, the report notes. Businesses that innovate in areas such as food additives and novel foods, or those that wish to make a health claim, face an especially heavy regulatory standard.
Despite the high level of regulation in Canada's food sector, a survey of almost 1,200 businesses for the Conference Board's Centre for Food in Canada found that a majority of respondents see regulation as either somewhat or very positive for business performance. Furthermore, there is no appetite in business for significant deregulation of the industry, the report says.
The report also notes the food industry has indicated it sees room for improvement in the regulatory system, particularly that it could be more responsive, transparent and consistent.
The Conference Board concludes that the food regulatory system would benefit from a more performance-based approach. Setting clearly defined national objectives in areas such as safety, nutrition and health would enable measurement as to whether regulatory activities achieve public policy goals. Once objectives are set, food companies would be expected to meet these performance benchmarks - as is done in countries such as Australia and New Zealand.
The report identifies structural and process reforms that could help to improve outcomes for food safety and nutrition, while supporting the viability of food businesses, including:
· defining national food goals and performance measures;
· enacting a new Food Act to replace the 90-year-old Food and Drugs Act;
· instituting an ombudsman to adjudicate disputes between companies and regulators;
· recognizing the growing role of private standards, and incorporating both public and private systems into a co-regulation model;
· harmonizing domestic regulatory systems, and selectively harmonizing Canadian and U.S. systems; and
· recognizing, on a selective basis, pre-market reviews of Canada's major trading partners for innovative food products, to expedite the Canadian approval process.
This report is produced for the Centre for Food in Canada (CFIC). Launched in 2010, CFIC is a multi-year Conference Board of Canada program of research and dialogue. About 25 companies and organizations have invested in the project, which will culminate with the development of a Canadian Food Strategy, which expected to be released in October 2013.
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