OTTOWA, CANADA — On April 13, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) will implement new import conditions for heat-treated and minimally processed pet food products coming from the United States.

The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Global Agriculture Information Network (GAIN) shared Canada’s new pet food import regulations on April 1.

The new guidelines include checking the temperature and time-specific treatments for each pet food product based on animal-based ingredients in the product, including egg, poultry, cattle, swine, sheep and goat ingredients.

Qualifications for heat-treated pet food include temperature and time conditions for each ingredient category. For pet food containing egg ingredients, products must be cooked at 134.6 F for 27 minutes; products containing poultry ingredient must be cooked at 149 F for 14 minutes or 165.2 F for 5 minutes; and products containing cattle, swine, sheep or goat ingredients must be cooked at 158 F for 30 minutes, 174.2 F for 30 seconds, or have reached a 194 F internal temperature during cooking.

Pet food products that do not meet the above standards will be instead classified as raw/minimally heat-treated pet food and must meet qualifications for that import category. The CFIA will no longer require an import permit for those products from the United States starting April 13, according to GAIN.

The CFIA has granted an eight-week transition period for the new guidelines, during which time pet food imports will be accepted under both the old and new conditions. This is expected to help pet food exporters adjust to new compliance standards.

For more regulatory news affecting the pet food market, visit our Regulatory page.