Canada to update process to register imported pet supplements

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) will update the import requirement for pet supplements into the country from 24 June 2024. 

One of the main changes is restructuring the categorization system for pet supplements in the Automated Import Reference System (AIRS). 

The regulatory agency classified products into 3 categories: pet supplements with no animal origin ingredients, pet supplements containing only highly processed animal origin ingredients, and pet supplements containing animal origin ingredients that are not highly processed.

The CFIA has also released a list of “highly” and “non-highly” processed animal origin ingredients to simplify the distinction.

Additive vitamins and boosters like fish oils, milk, collagen and others fall into the first category, while natural ingredients like meat, offal, and blood-derived ingredients fall under the latter. 

The details

Pet supplements from any country with no ingredients of animal origin will be allowed as long as a copy of the label or manufacturer’s ingredient list is provided.

Animal-derived products will require a zoosanitary certificate endorsed by an official veterinarian from the country of origin. “Different types of supplements in the same shipment will be able to be certified using the same zoosanitary certificate, as long as they are all in the same category of highly processed or non-highly processed,” clarifies the CFIA.

US-imported products manufactured in the country will be required to have the same zoosanitary certificate used for “thermally treated pet food.” This certificate would need to be endorsed by a USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) veterinarian.