Regulatory
REGULATORY NEWS FOR THE WEEK OF MARCH 14, 2022
Please join us for a webinar covering preventive control plans to support the Safe Food for Canadians Regulations or to help you prepare for a certification audit being scheduled by one of your customers. We will cover the essentials of a preventive control plan including tips on how to develop the HACCP and Good Manufacturing Practices manuals. This webinar is designed to help small and medium sized businesses who are processing food or importing food and food ingredients. Registration required – click on the title of here to register. We will record the webinar and make it available on our YouTube channel after the event. Environment and Climate Change Canada will be hosting a webinar series in order to provide a better understanding of the requirements under the Environmental Emergency Regulations, 2019 (E2 Regulations, 2019). The E2 program has prepared five different webinars on specific E2 Topics to be presented over the next months. The webinars will be held in both official languages on separate times. Below are the five topics of this webinar series and tentative dates and times for the English presentations. The What We Heard Report for CFIA’s consultation on Framing Competitiveness and Innovation for Success is now available. This report summarizes all feedback received throughout the agency’s 60-day consultation that took place between January 18 and March 19 2021. Federal The Notice with respect to certain substances on the Revised In Commerce List, including biopolymers, plant extracts, mineral extracts, proteins, fats, animal extracts, waxes, and carbohydrates applies to approximately 700 substances on the Revised In Commerce List (R-ICL). The purpose of the notice is to gather information on the commercial status and downstream use of the substances. This information is to be provided no later than September 14, 2022. A science approach document was developed pursuant to paragraph 68(b) of the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 (the Act), describing a scientific approach that was applied to approximately 12 200 substances specified on the Domestic Substances List in order to classify their relative ecological risk based on hazard and exposure profiles for each substance. The third interim order supports Canada’s ongoing focus on dealing with the significant risk that COVID-19 continues to pose to the health and safety of Canadians. It contributes to securing Canada’s medical device supply chain by: Performance measurement evaluation is an important part of the overall chemicals management process. Following risk assessment and risk management implementation phases, performance measurement will help ensure that Canadians can have confidence that their health and the environment are being protected from harmful substances. Providing results to Canadians on how well risk management strategies and tools have performed will enable stakeholders and the public to better understand how effectively their health and the environment are protected from toxic substances. Environment and Climate Change Canada is implementing this fee adjustment for the New Substances Program to be in compliance with Canada’s Service Fees Act which requires annual fee adjustments based on the percentage change over 12 months in the April All-items Consumer Price Index (CPI) for Canada, as published by Statistics Canada, for the previous fiscal year. This change applies to all federal service fees. Fees will increase by 3.4 % as of April 1, 2022. The draft screening assessment for the Alcohols Group has been published. It is proposed to conclude that three substances, methanol, 1-butanol and benzyl alcohol, may be harmful to human health and meet the criteria under paragraph 64(c) of the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 (CEPA). A risk management scope has been published concurrently to initiate discussions with stakeholders on the risk management options being considered. This document outlines the risk management options under consideration for methanol, 1-butanol, and benzenemethanol (hereinafter refered to as benzyl alcohol), included in the Alcohols Group of the Chemicals Management Plan (CMP). In particular, the Government of Canada is considering: Health Canada has launched a 45-day consultation on an amendment to the regulations to reduce burden by exemption non-therapeutic research on cannabis involving human participants in clinical trials. Health Canada would like to inform you of the upcoming launch of a new searchable webpage for claims for exemption filed under the Hazardous Materials Information Review Act (HMIRA) on Canada.ca in April 2022. This new searchable webpage will replace the Notice of Filing, Notice of Decision, and Orders publications in the Canada Gazette, as well as the List of active claims for exemption under the Hazardous Materials Information Review Act summary table on Canada.ca. It will contain the same information previously published in the Canada Gazette and the List of active claims for exemption table, but in a searchable and user-friendly format. This will make it easier for product end-users, such as workers and employers, as well as Hazardous Products Act inspectors, to obtain information on applicable products. Health Canada updated the document Antimicrobial Food Processing Aid Uses on Red Meat and Poultry Meat for which Health Canada has Expressed No Objection – effective March 2, 2022.
A number of changes have been announced including the requirement for employers to maintain COVID-19 safety plans. Masks are no longer required, but encouraged. Proof of vaccination will no longer be required as of April 8, 2022. The province will move away from emergency measures and shift its focus to ongoing operations. A process is now underway to gradually revoke all Chief Medical Officer of Health Directives and Instructions by the end of April 2022. Tracking of key indicators will continue. The main purpose of the draft Regulation is to replace Division XXI of the Regulation respecting occupational health and safety to harmonize its safety requirements with the updated requirements of Canadian and international standards in the field, in order to guide workplaces more effectively in the assessment and establishment of the necessary protective methods and ensure optimal protection for workers whose jobs involve the use of various machines. WorkSafeNB reminds employers that while COVID-19 restrictions loosen locally and around the globe, workplaces must remain diligent and flexible with prevention measures. The River Watch program, which officially started March 11th, will provide New Brunswickers with information on the status of rivers, potential ice jams and other flood issues across the province over the coming weeks. Registration is now open for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) April 19-21, 2022, virtual meeting of the Science Advisory Committee on Chemicals (SACC). During this meeting, the SACC will peer review the Draft Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Systematic Review Protocol. The SACC’s virtual meeting is open to the public and registration is required. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is extending the compliance date applicable to the prohibition on processing and distribution in commerce of certain PIP (3:1)-containing articles, and the PIP (3:1) used to make those articles, until October 31, 2024. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) is withdrawing a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) to allow driver applicants to take the commercial driver’s license (CDL) general and specialized knowledge tests in a State (the testing State) other than the applicant’s State of domicile. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is announcing the availability of a final guidance for industry entitled “Current Good Manufacturing Practice and Preventive Controls, Foreign Supplier Verification Programs, Intentional Adulteration, and Produce Safety Regulations: Enforcement Policy Regarding Certain Provisions.” FDA is announcing a docket for industry stakeholder comment on updates to FDA’s previously proposed quality metrics reporting program (QM Reporting Program). This notice describes considerations for refining the QM Reporting Program based on lessons learned from two pilot programs with industry that were announced in the Federal Register in June 2018, a Site Visit Program and a Quality Metrics Feedback Program, as well as stakeholder feedback on FDA’s 2016 revised draft guidance for industry Submission of Quality Metrics Data. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued guidance on its intent not to enforce certain provisions of five rules that implement the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA). As we began implementation of these rules, the FDA received questions and comments from stakeholders regarding specific provisions. The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) is pleased to announce that Volume 129 of the IARC Monographs, Gentian violet, leucogentian violet, malachite green, leucomalachite green, and CI Direct Blue 218, is now available online. Member States will finalise the 2021 substance evaluation on 17 March 2022. ECHA will send the finalised draft decisions to registrants for commenting as they arrive, and wherever possible, within two weeks of their receipt. Companies will then have 30 days to submit their comments. The draft decisions address five substances for which further information is needed to clarify identified concerns. In the first year since the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) introduced the manual completeness checks for chemical safety reports (CSRs) of registration dossiers, 2 013 CSRs were manually checked by ECHA staff. 1,461 (73 %) were found to be complete. 552 (27 %) failed the checks and were given a four-month deadline for corrections. Out of these, most CSRs have been completed as expected (around 80 %). The substance and examples of its uses are: (CIRS) On 1 Mar. 2022, China Customs has released the Order No. 257, under which the Measures for the Supervision and Administration of the Inspection of Imported Paints and Coatings are abolished. The Order shall come into force on the date of its release. It means that the filing of imported paints and coatings in China has been abolished since 1 Mar. 2022. Safety Share Mental health is just as important as physical health at work. Learn how to keep your employees psychologically safe. The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) has launched several new training programs to ensure building and life safety is always at the forefront and professionals have the knowledge to succeed in their ever-expanding roles. The online and live virtual offerings have been designed and developed with input from industry experts so that practitioners can critically think about codes and standards and apply the guidance found within key documents to their everyday work tasks. The European Commission is hosting its second stakeholder workshop on Safe and Sustainable by Design chemicals and materials. The workshop is organised remotely and will present the draft methodology to define safe and sustainable by design criteria for chemicals and materials. The agenda for the 2022 American Food Sure Summit in Chicago is now live! Partners in Preventions hosts a variety of events and conferences throughout the year that raise awareness and provide educational and professional networking opportunities. Chemspec Europe is back in 2022 in Frankfurt, Germany. Due to COVID-19 health concerns, the 2022 event will be held on May 31-June 1 at Messe Frankfurt in Frankfurt, Germany.Advocacy
Canadian Federal News
Canadian Provincial News
US News
International News
Other Relevant Information
EVENTS
Comments are closed