Food safety culture has long been seen as a “good to have” in Canada food establishments, but it had not been called out as a regulatory mandate by CFIA. However, with the CFIA’s current inspection crackdown, food safety culture has become more of a “have to have.”
As stated in the agency’s October 2025 tightening of SFC licence requirements and inspection blitz to run through the fall of 2026, the CFIA will no longer grant SFC licences for any establishments, including those that are lower risk, until verifying that all information is submitted. In particular, it states that “all new, amended and renewal applications will be reviewed to ensure … that a food safety culture is demonstrated by the applicant.” This is furthered by the statement on food safety culture in the agency’s Inspection Modernization document which states: “It is the responsibility of regulated parties to produce safe food and mitigate food safety risks associated and demonstrate a commitment to a food safety culture within their operations.”
How to Build a Strong Food Safety Culture in Your Facility
Food safety culture is a behaviour-based system in which the entire staff has a common sense of food safety purpose. GFSI defines it as “shared values, beliefs and norms that affect mindset and behavior towards food safety in, across, and throughout an organization.”
It is built through an established plan to manage risk which is understood by all in the facility. It can maintained through positive reinforcement and incentives, along with consequences when needed. TAG Canada sees the maturity of a facility’s food safety culture as being in one of three buckets:
- Good: it is reactive and dependent on the quality assurance group for enforcement or reinforcement.
- Great: FSC has become proactive, the entire staff is knowledgeable and is empowered to take action.
- Best in Class: all in the facility as one through in-depth, proactive risk management with a continuous improvement mindset
How to Demonstrate Food Safety Culture During a CFIA Inspection
Thus, to be compliant, it is not enough to say you have a food safety culture it needs to be evident, demonstrated by managers and workers. It means moving beyond paper procedures to all-encompassing employee behavior, senior management commitment, and continuous improvement. It means integrating food safety into all company decisions and mission statements with the consistent following of safety protocols every day – not just when under inspection.
Demonstrating food safety culture includes a focus on areas such as:
- Employee Behaviour: Proper food handling, handwashing, use of protective gear, etc. even when not being observed
- Management Commitment: All persons, from the CEO down, are focused on food safety, with sufficient resources provided and safety valued over all else.
- Training & Knowledge: Food safety training is evident and continuous, with full documentation.
- Documented Records: Temperature logs, sanitization records, self-inspection reports, etc., are maintained and regularly reviewed.
- Incident Reporting: Incidents that do occur are analyzed for root causes and corrective action is taken.
Whether you are seeking to develop a prominent food safety culture or want to improve an existing program, TAG Canada has the expertise to assess your programs and help ensure the culture of your business not only meets CFIA expectations but is at, or developing to, best in class.
Summary: With CFIA increasing its focus on inspection and licensing requirements, food safety culture is becoming a key expectation for compliance. Companies must demonstrate that food safety is embedded in employee behaviour, leadership commitment, training, and documentation, rather than relying solely on written procedures.
