Seafood Safety

The B.C. government is committed to working with the seafood industry to help ensure that safe, high quality seafood enters the B.C. marketplace to facilitate greater consumer confidence leading to further growth and development of B.C.’s entire agrifoods sector.

In April 2015, the B.C. government introduced the new Fish and Seafood Act which has a greater emphasis on food safety.  The Act and the new Fish and Seafood Licensing Regulation were brought into force on January 1, 2017.  

• Fish and Seafood Act
• Fish and Seafood Licensing Regulation
• Fish and Seafood Act Summary (PDF)

Licence holders, partner agencies, industry associations and First Nations were consulted in order to solicit feedback on proposed new regulations.

These new regulations may affect how some participants in the seafood industry will operate.  As of January 1, 2017 all seafood processors licensed by the B.C. government will be required to develop, maintain and follow a written food safety and sanitation plan which addresses all potential food safety concerns.  In order to support the industry in meeting the new regulatory requirements, the B.C. government has created the following:

Seafood Industry Notices

Seafood Processors

• Seafood Industry Notice for Seafood Processors – Sport-caught Fish (PDF) – May 2019
• Seafood Industry Notice for Seafood Processors - Licensing & Requirements (PDF) - January 2019
• Seafood Industry Notice for Seafood Processors - Norovirus (PDF) - October 2019
• Seafood Industry Notice for Seafood Processors - Vibrio (PDF) - April 2018
• Infographic for Live Bivalve (e.g., oysters) Record Keeping Requirements (PDF) - October 2019

Fish Receivers

• Seafood Industry Notice for Fish Receivers - Licensing & Requirements (PDF) - January 2019

Fisher Vendors

• Seafood Industry Notice for Fisher Vendors - Licensing & Requirements (PDF) - January 2019
• Infographic for Fish Vendors (PDF) - November 2019

Sanitation Plan Supports

The workbook accompanies the educational video below:

• Sanitation Plan Workbook (PDF)
• Sanitation Plan Workbook (PDF) (Simplified Chinese)
• Sanitation Plan Templates (DOCX)
• Sanitation Plan (Video)

Food Safety Plan Supports

The workbook accompanies the educational videos below:

• Food Safety Plan Workbook (PDF, 1.6 MB)
• Food Safety Plan Workbook (PDF) (Simplified Chinese)
• Food Safety Plan Templates (DOCX)
• Sample Food Safety Plan - Cooked Crab Meat (PDF)
• Sample Food Safety Plan - Live Fish and Crustaceans (PDF)
• Sample Food Safety Plan - Frozen Seafood Distributor (PDF)
• Sample Food Safety Plan – Frozen Salmon Portion (PDF)
• Sample Food Safety Plan – Hot Smoked Salmon (PDF)

Food Safety Plan Educational Video Series

This series of videos accompanies the workbook above:

• Part 1. Introduction and Overview of Food Safety Plans (Video)
• Part 2. Starting your Food Safety Plan (Video)
• Part 3. HACCP Principle 1: Identifying Hazards (Video)
• Part 4. HACCP Principle 2: Identifying Critical Control Points (Video)
• Part 5. HACCP Principle 3: Establishing Critical Limits (Video)
• Part 6. HACCP Principle 4: Establishing Monitoring Procedures (Video)
• Part 7. HACCP Principle 5: Establishing Corrective Actions (Video)
• Part 8. HACCP Principle 6: Establishing Verification Procedures (Video)
• Part 9. HACCP Principle 7: Keeping Records (Video)
• Part 10. Appendix 3: HACCP Prerequisite Programs (Video)

Access a Qualified Food Safety Specialist (no-charge)

To assist in the development of your written food safety and sanitation plans, please call 1-855-966-4272 to schedule an appointment with a Food Safety Specialist.