Thank you for your question.
It goes without saying that the agency is also concerned about imports. A significant proportion of the commodities that Canadians consume come from several countries. It is clearly the agency's responsibility to ensure that these commodities are safe and that they meet Canadian standards.
Depending on the commodities, for example fish and meat, the agency has an inspection system that allows for visiting establishments in foreign countries. Our risk-reduction measures include intervening in the countries of origin. Regardless, with respect to meat and fish, we review the inspection systems and the plants of foreign countries.
Furthermore, we inspect a significant quantity of commodities a second time when they enter the country. Just how often we do that depends on the results obtained during inspections at the time of importation. For example, if a commodity imported from the United States is re-inspected and subsequently rejected, then anything coming subsequently from that plant will clearly be subjected to more stringent inspections.
The agency does not claim to be able to check all commodities coming into Canada. We proceed statistically and on a risk basis. Our assessment is based on the risk profile of the country of origin of these commodities and on the intrinsic risk profile of the imported commodities.
For example, fresh fruit and vegetables coming from the United States, spinach in particular, were identified as being high-risk commodities. Fresh ready-to-eat salad mixes coming from the United States are also high-risk commodities. Our inspection of these products is much more stringent in terms of bacteria assessment.
Several years ago, the agency also established a re-inspection and sampling system on some commodities for the purposes of detecting chemical residues. We mentioned the case of American spinach and E. coli and salmonella contamination in chocolate, but there are also commodities that have been contaminated by chemical residues that are finding their way into Canada. The agency samples these commodities systematically and randomly but also targets certain commodities coming into Canada.
Can we check everything coming into Canada? No. No one could have foreseen that melamine-contaminated products would enter the United States and be used in cattle feed. However, to the extent that the agency is made aware of a situation quickly, then it acts very quickly to reduce the risk.
Imports are a priority for us.