Importing food into Canada: the SFC licence and what comes with it
To import food into Canada for sale, you need a Safe Food for Canadians (SFC) licence from the CFIA before the shipment reaches the border. The licence comes with a preventive control plan, traceability records and a recall procedure. Here is the order to do it in.
- SFC licencebefore the border
- Valid2 years
- Recordskept 2 years
In short
What the licence covers
The Safe Food for Canadians Regulations (SFCR) require a licence to import food, including food ingredients. The licence is issued by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA), not the CBSA, and it cannot be obtained at the border.
Read the details
The importer holds the licence, even when a customs broker handles the paperwork. To hold one you need a fixed place of business in Canada, or in a foreign country whose food safety system the CFIA has recognized, with the food shipped directly from that country.
A few imports are exempt, such as food for personal use within set quantity limits, or 100 kg or less of food for analysis, research or trade-show samples. Meat products and live or raw shellfish have extra rules: they can only come from countries with an inspection system the CFIA recognizes.
Importing food, step by step
Know your food and its rules
Identify the hazards of the food you plan to import, then look up the import conditions for your product and its origin in the CFIA's Automated Import Reference System (AIRS). You are responsible for checking AIRS regularly.
Choose a capable supplier
Select a foreign supplier who makes the food in a way that meets Canadian requirements.
Write a preventive control plan
Write and implement a preventive control plan (PCP) before you apply for the licence. It is a requirement of the licence.
Prepare complaints and recalls
Set up written complaints and recall procedures, and simulate a recall once every 12 months.
Apply for the licence
Apply for the SFC licence in My CFIA. Fees apply to new licences; amendments are free. The licence is valid for 2 years from the effective date on it.
Declare each shipment
Give the CFIA the information about each shipment, with your licence number exactly as issued. It can be sent up to 90 days before the shipment arrives.
Records the CFIA expects
From the CFIA's step-by-step guide to importing food.
- Traceability: who you bought from and sold to
- 2 years, accessible in Canada
- Supplier documents showing the PCP works
- 2 years after they are prepared
- Complaints
- 2 years after the follow-up is completed
- Recalls
- 2 years after the recall starts
- Recall simulations
- 2 years after the simulation ends
No licence, no entry
The licence has to be in place before the shipment is presented at the border: it cannot be obtained there, and a shipment without one is delayed or refused. Renew it in My CFIA before the 2 years are up. An expired licence cannot be renewed, only replaced by a new application.
Common questions
Do I need an SFC licence to import food?
Yes, for almost all food imported for sale, including ingredients. The exceptions are narrow, such as food for personal use within quantity limits, or 100 kg or less for analysis, research or trade-show samples. The CFIA's licensing interactive tool confirms your case.
Can my customs broker hold the licence?
No. A broker can handle the paperwork, but the licence is held by the importer.
Can a company outside Canada import food?
Only if the CFIA has recognized the food safety system of the country where the company has its fixed place of business, and the food ships directly from that country. The CFIA publishes the recognized countries. Otherwise the food has to go through an SFC-licensed importer in Canada. See [[/import/non-resident-importer|non-resident importer]].
Do I still need customs registration?
Yes. The SFC licence comes on top of the customs requirements: an [[/import/rm-business-number|RM import account]], and accounting for each shipment in CARM.
Check where you stand
See which import requirements apply to your shipments.
Keep reading
The next steps most people take from here.
Importing
The whole path to importing commercial goods into Canada, in order.
Read →Import/export number (RM)
The import/export account number the CBSA needs before your first shipment.
Read →Non-resident importer
Importing into Canada as a business based outside Canada.
Read →Import readiness
Check your import readiness: CARM, RPP security, classification, permits.
Read →