On September 13, 2021 the CFIA announced the 2021 import requirements for romaine lettuce and products containing romaine lettuce from the US.

For full details see the CFIA’s page: Import requirements for romaine lettuce from the US (2021) and the CFIA news release.

Following is a recap of the Import Requirements:

Affected Commodities: Shipments of fresh romaine lettuce, salad mixes and other products containing romaine, sold in bags, bulk or combined with other foods, which originate in the US.

Imported from the US between: September 30 and December 31, 2021

For romaine and romaine products from the Salinas Valley of California (counties: Santa Cruz, Santa Clara, San Benito, and Monterey):

• Importer attestation (using form CFIA/ACIA 5961) that sampling was conducted according to the temporary SFC licence conditions.

Check your MyCFIA account for the SFC licence conditions.

AND

• Certificate of Analysis demonstrating that the product does not contain detectable levels of E. coli O157:H7.

For romaine and romaine products from outside the Salinas Valley of California:

• Proof of Origin indicating the state and county where the romaine lettuce was harvested if the romaine lettuce is from outside of the California counties of Santa Cruz, Santa Clara, San Benito and Monterey.

If a Proof of Origin of the romaine lettuce is not available, the attestation and Certificate of Analysis must be provided.

These requirements are in addition to the standard import requirements for vegetables and leafy greens. Existing Import Requirements for all Leafy Greens are:

• The Importer must have a valid Safe Foods for Canadians (SFC) Licence for importing produce.
• The Importer must have a Dispute Resolution Corporation (DRC) membership or be exempt.
• Romaine (and other leafy greens) from California must be handled by a member of the California Leafy Green Marketing Agreement (LGMA).
• Romaine (and other leafy greens) from Arizona must be handled by a member of the Arizona Leafy Green Marking Agreement (LGMA).
• Organic Products: Importer must be in possession of the Organic Certification.

Background:

CFIA messages:

• Notice to industry: Temporary Safe Food for Canadians licence conditions for importing romaine lettuce and products containing romaine lettuce from the US (September 14, 2021)
• Notice to industry: Anticipated fall 2021 import requirements for romaine lettuce from the US (June 4, 2021)
• Update on the fall 2021 import requirements for romaine lettuce from the US (July 23, 2021).

And our informational article: Fall 2021 Romaine Lettuce Requirements

As a valued client of PCB, you receive the benefit of our proactive release process which will ensure your imports are declared with the additional requirements listed above:

• Upon receipt, our release team ensures all necessary documents that are required for import, are included.
• If they are missing we will reach out to you, your carrier or your vendor to obtain this paperwork (additional fees may apply).

Please reach out to your account manager with any questions you may have about these new requirements at any time by emailing compliance@pcb.ca or calling 604.538.1566.

We are here for you always!