Canada: food inspections

In Canada the app follows the national Food Retail and Food Services Code (2016) and Health Canada’s safe temperatures, with each province’s own rules. Provincial and local health authorities inspect. Quebec comes later, in French.

Inspection body

Provincial and territorial governments and their health authorities (the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, CFIA, covers only food traded between provinces, imported or exported)

Provincial and territorial governments regulate restaurants, takeaways and cafés within their borders, and many provinces let municipal authorities enforce the rules locally. The CFIA licenses only businesses that import, export or trade food between provinces.

Rules and inspections differ by province. The national Food Retail and Food Services Code (2016) is a model code, not federal law: each province chooses whether to adopt it. Check your province’s food safety rules and your local health authority.

Hygiene rating

There is no national grade. Inspection results are public in most provinces, for example through Ontario’s boards of health, Toronto DineSafe, British Columbia’s health authorities, Alberta Health Services, Saskatchewan and Prince Edward Island.