Understanding CFIA Inspection Guidelines

A CFIA inspection shouldn't be something an organization scrambles to prepare for. When facilities, records, and staff are aligned with the agency's standards as a matter of routine, inspection stops being a source of risk and becomes a confirmation of systems that already work. The gap between those two states usually comes down to how well an organization understands what CFIA is actually looking for. In this session, Pamela MacDonald, Director General of the Food Operations Directorate at the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, offers direct insight into how CFIA inspection standards are interpreted and applied across food categories. The session covers how to read inspection procedures accurately, how to prepare facilities, records, and personnel for both routine and targeted inspections, and how to translate inspection findings into corrective action and continuous improvement rather than one-time fixes. For food safety, quality, and regulatory professionals responsible for inspection readiness, this session offers a rare opportunity to understand CFIA expectations directly from the agency, and to build a compliance approach that holds up because it's grounded in how those standards are actually enforced. Speaker: Pamela MacDonald, Director General, Food Operations Directorate, Canadian Food Inspection Agency