The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) is working to strengthen import controls for organic foods through a 2-phase project.
Phase 1 of the project was completed in November 2024. This phase introduced new Other Government Department (OGD) codes into CFIA’s Automated Import Reference System (AIRS) and required importers and brokers to declare whether they have a copy of the organic products certificate in their possession. The implementation of this phase has gone well and CFIA is now ready to proceed with Phase 2.
Beginning May 26, 2025, importers and brokers will be required to provide a digital copy (image) of the organic certificate(s) as part of their Integrated Import Declaration (IID), also referred to as the CBSA Single Window.
The CBSA will assign a Unique Reference Number (URN) for each uploaded organic product certificate. The URN can be used as part of the submission when completing the declaration in the IID. This will allow importers and brokers to use the same URN for multiple shipments. Declarations may also include multiple URNs as required.
Please note that once this measure comes into effect, failure to upload a copy of the organic product certificate or a URN (where the certificate was already provided in a previous declaration) will result in a reject message until the organic product certificate digital copy or URN is provided. It is the responsibility of the importer to familiarize themselves with the newly added organic products in AIRS and ensure compliance.
Questions may be directed to the Canada Organic Regime team at OPR-RPB@inspection.gc.ca.
For more information, contact Lukas Hamann, Manager – Border Clearances.
