New program opportunities through Investment Agriculture Foundation!

The Food Safety Program (FSP) seeks to increase adoption of new or improving existing food safety practices and systems by BC on-farm and BC post-farm businesses to enable the BC agrifood sector to meet existing and new national and international food safety regulatory requirements.

FSP is a five-year, up to $6.7 million program funded by the Governments of Canada and British Columbia through the Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership, a federal-provincial-territorial initiative. The program is delivered by the Investment Agriculture Foundation of BC (IAF).

Program Objective

FSP seeks to build public confidence in foods and beverages that are processed or handled for consumption and trade by BC businesses along the agrifood value chain. The objective of FSP is to increase the adoption of food safety systems by BC on-farm and post-farm businesses.

Who’s Eligible?

To be considered eligible for this program, an applicant must:

• Have an active nine-digit business registration number (BN) from the Canada Revenue Agency or have an active GST number and file business or farm income taxes in BC.
• Be based and operating in BC.
• Be a society, not for profit corporation, corporation, cooperative association, or an individual.
• For post-farm applicants, be provincially and federally licensed, as required, to operate their businesses in BC.
• For on-farm applicants, provide a copy of BC Assessment showing farm status.

Operate an agrifood business that produces / processes / handles food, commodities, or beverages for human alimentary consumption.

• Be following all requirements of the law and agree to remain in compliance for the term of the Sustainable CAP Initiative if the application is approved.
• Be registered with the BC Premises Identification Program if they raise “animals” as defined in the Premises Identification Regulation made under the Animal Health Act, S.B.C. 2014, c. 16.

Eligible Applicants to Stream 1: On-Farm Include:

• Farmers/growers producing crops for human consumption.
• Producers/ranchers raising animals for human consumption.
• Packers or co-packers that handle food for human consumption.

Eligible Applicants to Stream 2: Post-Farm Include:

• Processors, transporters, warehouses, distributors, packers, and importers that handle food and beverage for human consumption.
• Processing facilities (beyond basic washing, grading, and packaging) located on or off a farm premise and not covered by a certified on-farm food safety program.
• Food hubs, which are shared-use food and beverage processing facilities that offer food and agriculture businesses access to commercial processing space, equipment, expertise, and resources to support business development and growth.

Reminder: Create your IAF Client Portal account now. Do not wait to start this process – it can take up to two business days to validate your organization!