Amendment to the import conditions for romaine lettuce harvested in California (USA) and salads from the USA

December 7, 2018

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency’s (CFIA) Automated Import Reference System (AIRS) will be updated to add a date of signing on the letterhead required since November 30, 2018 following the outbreak of E. coli O157 illnesses in Canada linked to romaine lettuce harvested in California (USA).

  1. Shipments of romaine lettuce from California must be accompanied by a letterhead, on a separate page, showing a Proof of Origin with the date of signing and the signature of the exporter declaring the municipality, county and the state (California) where romaine lettuce was harvested.
  2. Shipments of salads originating from all of the USA, containing romaine lettuce, will have to be accompanied by a letterhead, on a separate page, showing a Proof of Origin with the date of signing and the signature of the exporter declaring the municipality, county and state where romaine lettuce was harvested.
  3. Shipments of salads originating from all of the USA, which do not contain romaine lettuce, will have to be accompanied by a letterhead, on a separate page, with the date of signing and the signature of the exporter with the following text: “Does not contain romaine lettuce.”

We encourage brokers and importers to submit their transactions in advance.

If you have any questions, please contact the CFIA National Import Service Centre (NISC) from 7:00 a.m. to 3:00 a.m. (Eastern Time) at 1-800-835-4486 (Canada or USA).


Accessible to: 
Everyone
Topic(s): 
Release / System Updates/Outages & Delays at the Border
Information Source: 
Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA)
Document Type: 
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