Toronto, April 1, 2025
On January 21, 2025, the CFIA announced changes to the import requirements for pet food from the United States, indicating each shipment of pet food products must be accompanied by a commercial invoice and a Zoosanitary Export Certificate (also known as a Health Certificate or Veterinary Export Certificate) issued by the United States Department of Agriculture – Animal and Plant Health Inspection Services. The commercial invoice had to list the products in the shipment and the amounts, and it must clearly reference the Zoosanitary Export Certificate number.
CFIA have now issued a revision to their Simplified documentation requirements for pet food products from the United States policy, confirming the document does not need to be a commercial invoice, but rather can be a shipping document. For example an invoice, bill of lading, manifest or Canada Customs Invoice may be provided, with the Zoosanitary Export Certificate number, in place of the Importer’s Statement of Compliance. The shipping document must reference the number of the Zoosanitary Certificate that corresponds to the specific shipment. The certificate number may not be handwritten but any method of typing, including PDF text boxes or application of a sticker, is acceptable.
There will be a 3 month transition period, which ends April 21, 2025, where shipments will still be accepted with the Importer’s Statement of Compliance. By the end of the transition period a shipping document must be provided that includes the Zoosanitary Certificate number.
Questions may be directed to the import team for animal products and by-products at APABPImport@inspection.gc.ca
(The above notice impacts imports of pet products that contain animal ingredients)
For more information, please call Lukas Hamann, Manager – Customs Operations, Border Clearances at (905) 882-4880, ext. 1235.
