The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) has announced the fall 2022 import requirements for US romaine lettuce. The requirements are the same as fall 2021, but the enforcement timeframe has shifted slightly. The 2022 requirements now come into effect on September 28, 2022, and will end on December 22, 2022. Pre-harvest sampling and testing will be permitted again in 2022.
Romaine lettuce and products containing romaine lettuce (I.e., bagged salads) produced in the four Salinas Valley counties of Santa Cruz, Santa Clara, San Benito, and Monterey must “submit an attestation form and Certificates of Analysis for each shipment to demonstrate that the romaine lettuce does not contain detectable levels of E. coli O157:H7.”
Products originating from other areas of the US must “declare that the product does not originate from [the] counties of Santa Cruz, Santa Clara, San Benito and Monterey in the Salinas Valley, California, US” This declaration can take the form of a letter printed on company letterhead.
Complying with the requirements is the responsibility of the Canadian importer or US non-resident importer (NRI). In 2021, a delegate may be assigned to complete the attestation form.
