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BNQ to certify CanadaGAP food safety program

February 7, 2011,
Ottawa, Ont – The Canadian Horticultural Council (CHC)’s CanadaGAP (On-Farm
Food Safety) Program is pleased to announce the addition of a new certification
body for the program, Bureau de normalisation du Québec (BNQ).

February 7, 2011,
Ottawa, Ont – The Canadian Horticultural Council (CHC)’s CanadaGAP (On-Farm
Food Safety) Program is pleased to announce the addition of a new certification
body for the program, Bureau de normalisation du Québec (BNQ).

BNQ joins QMI-SAI Global
and the Guelph Food Technology Centre in the list of available certification
bodies for CanadaGAP.

Third-party
certification bodies are licensed by the CHC to provide audit and certification
services for producers and packers of fresh fruit and vegetables who are
enrolled in the program. Program participants must comply with food safety
standards outlined by the program, and undergo and successfully complete
on-farm audits in order to become CanadaGAP-certified. Several Canadian buyers
– including Loblaw Companies Limited, McCain Foods Canada, Simplot Canada and
Lamb-Weston – are requiring that growers become certified under the CanadaGAP
Program.

New participants to
CanadaGAP are asked to indicate their chosen certification body on the program
enrolment form. Producers, storage operators and packers that are already
CanadaGAP-certified will be contacted to confirm their selected certification
body before their next scheduled audit.

For more information about
enrolling in CanadaGAP and about the certification bodies providing services,
link to the CanadaGAP website at www.canadagap.ca.