2023/24 annual report : National Microbiological Monitoring Program

Abstract

The National Microbiological Monitoring Program (NMMP) is a food surveillance program managed by the CFIA to support CFIA verification of industry compliance with food safety standards, provide information on the effectiveness of food safety control measures and interventions, facilitate access of Canadian food products to international markets, and maintain consumer confidence in the safety of the food supply. Under the NMMP, a broad range of domestic and imported food products are sampled by CFIA inspectors. These food products are frequently sampled at Safe Food for Canadians (SFC) licence holding establishments (i.e., those that produce food products that are exported or traded inter-provincially or those that import food products), but samples may also be collected at other establishment types, such as warehouses, distribution centres, and wholesalers. Food products of the following commodities were tested under the NMMP in the 2023/24 sampling year (April 1, 2023 to March 31, 2024): red meat and poultry products, egg products, dairy products, fresh fruits and vegetables, processed fruit and vegetable products, and fish and seafood products. Known food-hazard combinations, i.e., specific microorganisms in specific foods that are recognized to occur and whose presence indicates a food safety concern, and historical levels of compliance were taken into consideration when selecting foods for testing under NMMP monitoring sampling plans. Environmental sampling was also performed at SFC licence holding establishments to support CFIA verification that domestic producers were able to control the presence of pathogens within the processing environments and that domestic food products were produced under sanitary conditions. All product and environmental samples collected under the NMMP were tested at CFIA laboratories. All samples were subject to follow-up actions by both industry and the CFIA. Such follow-up actions could include follow-up inspections, additional sampling, product disposal, corrective action requests, food safety investigations, product recalls, etc. In the 2023/24 sampling year, 13,135 tests were performed on 5,484 domestic and imported food products collected under the NMMP to verify compliance with food safety standards. Specifically, 9,161 tests were performed on 4,159 domestic products and 3,974 tests were performed on 1,325 imported products. Results indicated that domestic products were 98.8 % satisfactory and imported products were 99.1 % satisfactory. Overall, a 98.9 % satisfactory rate was observed for combined domestic and imported products. In addition, there were 1,793 tests performed on 1,509 environmental samples, which were assessed as 97.1 % satisfactory.