Food Safety Monitoring Program

Overview

The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Agribusiness (OMAFA) administers an annual Food Safety Monitoring (FSM) Program to test samples of Ontario grown produce for chemical and/or microbial contamination.

This helps to determine compliance with the food safety requirements under Ontario Regulation 119/11 – Produce, Honey and Maple Products (O. Reg. 119/11) under the Food Safety and Quality Act, 2001 (FSQA).

Anyone in Ontario who packs, labels, transports, advertises or sells produce and is not federally licensed to do so, must comply with this regulation (some exceptions apply). Refer to Food safety rules for produce, honey and maple products for more information about regulatory requirements.

About the process

Sample collection

Samples of fresh Ontario produce are collected by OMAFA inspectors who are appointed under the FSQA. These inspectors have authority under the FSQA to collect samples of regulated products at the expense of the owner.

Samples are randomly collected from producers, retailers and distribution centers. This may include sampling directly from:

• producer’s farm-gate
• farmers’ markets
• warehouses

Samples are collected and transported according to strict sampling and transportation protocols that ensure sample integrity and chain of custody are maintained throughout the collection and testing process.

All samples undergo laboratory analysis by the University of Guelph’s Agriculture and Food Laboratory for 1 or more types of contaminants.

Types of laboratory analysis

Samples are analyzed by the University of Guelph’s Agriculture and Food Laboratory for 1 or more of the following:

• microbial contaminants (for example, Salmonella spp., E. coli, Campylobacter)
• agricultural chemical residues (pesticides)

The specific parameters of each sampling project may change from year to year.

Sampling plan design

The FSM Program consists of routine monitoring and compliance sampling.

Routine monitoring

Under the routine monitoring program, samples of fresh produce are collected randomly from a variety of growers and producers across the province.

A sampling plan specifies the commodity types and the number of samples to be collected, but it does not specify the collection locations.

The ministry develops this sampling plan each year, considering several factors when determining the produce types and number of samples to be tested. These factors include:

• consumption patterns
• how commodities are consumed (raw, cooked)
• worldwide outbreak data
• program testing data from previous years
• production volumes in Ontario
• history of non-compliance of a given commodity

If non-compliance is detected (for example, a sample tests positive for a pathogen or if a chemical level detected exceeds the limit set by Health Canada), program staff follow-up with the producer to determine the cause of the contamination and make recommendations to prevent reoccurrence. The producer is then added to the compliance sampling part of the program.

Refer to Laboratory results and compliance activities for more information.

Compliance sampling

Compliance sampling involves the collection of samples from specific producers. These producers are identified based on their history of non-compliance.

Samples are collected from these producers until they have maintained 2 consecutive years of compliant results for their products. The producer is then removed from the compliance sampling program.

These producers may be sampled again under the routine monitoring part of the program.

Laboratory results and compliance activities

All producers receive a letter that details the testing results for their sample(s).

When contaminants are found above the federal government’s allowable levels, the producer is notified by OMAFA staff.

Arrangements are made for an OMAFA food safety inspector to follow-up with the producer to:

• help identify the cause(s) of the contamination
• suggest corrective actions to prevent recurrence

Results that pose a food safety risk are also reported to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) for possible follow-up action.

The CFIA is responsible for conducting a risk assessment of the product and determining if further actions, such as a product recall, are required. The Ministry of Health may also be notified.

Program results

The following tables provide an aggregate summary of the results from OMAFA’s FSM Program from 2020 to 2024.

Please note that the results from this program are not statistically valid and cannot be used to generalize the state of the produce industry.

The summary is organized by commodity type as follows:

• fresh produce
• sprouted seeds
• microgreens
• in-shell nuts

Fresh produce

Samples of whole, harvested fruits, vegetables, herbs and microgreens that were offered for sale or intended for sale were tested for either microbial contaminants or agricultural pesticide residues.

Table 1 and Table 2 detail the specific commodity types and the quantity tested over the past 5 years.

Produce tested for microbial contaminants

Samples were tested for microbial contaminants including Shigatoxigenic E. coli, Salmonella spp., and Campylobacter and indicator organisms such as generic E. coli.

Summary of results

2024

One lettuce contained levels of generic E. coli greater than Health Canada’s allowable level. One kale, one cilantro and one lettuce tested positive for Shigatoxigenic E. coli.

2023

One kale, one basil and three lettuce contained levels of generic E. coli greater than Health Canada’s allowable level. One cabbage tested positive for Salmonella. One cilantro and one basil tested positive for Shigatoxigenic E. coli. One cilantro tested positive for Campylobacter.

2022

One kale and one basil contained levels of generic E. coli greater than Health Canada’s allowable level. One cilantro, one kale and one spinach tested positive for Shigatoxigenic E. coli.

2021

One kale and two lettuce samples contained levels of generic E. coli greater than Health Canada’s allowable level. One cilantro tested positive for Shigatoxigenic E. coli.

2020

One spinach contained levels of generic E. coli greater than Health Canada’s allowable level. One celery, one carrot and one spinach sample tested positive for Shigatoxigenic E. coli.

Produce tested for chemical contaminants

Samples were tested for the presence of more than 500 agricultural chemical (pesticide) residues. Chemical levels were compared to the allowable limits set by Health Canada under the Pest Control Products Act. These limits are unique to each chemical/commodity type.

Summary of results

2024

14 samples contained chemical residue levels above Health Canada’s allowable limits:

• 5 strawberries
• 5 raspberries
• 1 cilantro
• 1 parsley
• 2 kale

One of the strawberry samples contained 2 chemical residue levels above Health Canada’s allowable limits.

2023

18 samples contained chemical residue levels above Health Canada’s allowable limits:

• 1 basil
• 1 bean
• 1 cilantro
• 3 kale
• 1 lettuce
• 2 peppers
• 3 raspberries
• 2 strawberries

An additional kale, lettuce and parsley contained 2 chemical residue levels above Health Canada’s allowable limits. An additional basil contained 4 chemical residue levels above Health Canada’s allowable limits.

2022

17 samples contained chemical residue levels above Health Canada’s allowable limits:

• 5 raspberries
• 4 strawberries
• 2 kale
• 1 parsley
• 1 cilantro
• 1 sweet pepper
• 1 spinach

An additional parsley and strawberry contained 2 chemical residue levels above Health Canada’s allowable limits.

2021

39 samples contained chemical residue levels above Health Canada's allowable limits:

• 8 basil
• 7 cilantro
• 10 parsley
• 1 spinach
• 1 bok choy
• 3 raspberries
• 5 kale
• 2 peppers

An additional parsley contained 2 chemical residue levels above Health Canada’s allowable limits and 1 additional kale contained 4 chemical residue levels above Health Canada’s allowable limits.

2020

22 samples contained chemical residue levels above Health Canada’s allowable limits:

• 6 basil
• 1 cilantro
• 7 kale
• 5 parsley
• 3 raspberries
• 1 spinach

One of the kale samples contained 2 chemical residue levels above Health Canada’s allowable limits.

Sprouted seeds

Sprout samples were collected from sprouting facilities across the province. Five samples were collected during each visit.

All samples were tested for the presence of coliforms, generic E. coli, Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella spp., and Shigatoxigenic E. coli.

Table 3 summarizes the total number of samples collected from 2020 to 2024.

Summary of results

2024

Two samples were positive for Listeria monocytogenes.

2023

One sample was positive for generic E. coli. One sample was positive for Listeria monocytogenes.

2022

One sample was positive for Listeria monocytogenes.

2021

Four samples were positive for Listeria monocytogenes.

2020

Two samples were positive for Listeria monocytogenes.

Microgreens

Samples of microgreens were added to the routine monitoring program in 2021. Samples were collected from microgreen growers across the province. Five samples were collected during each visit. Microgreen varieties can include sunflower, broccoli, pea shoots and radish.

The microgreen samples were tested for Listeria spp. and a composite sample from the lot was tested for coliforms, generic E. coli, Salmonella spp., Campylobacter spp. and Shigatoxigenic E. coli.

Summary of results

2024

All samples tested negative for microbial contamination.

2023

All samples tested negative for microbial contamination.

2022

All samples tested negative for microbial contamination.

2021

All samples tested negative for microbial contamination.

In-shell nuts

Samples of in-shell nuts were collected from nut producers across the province. Five samples were collected during each visit. Nut varieties include:

• almonds
• hazelnuts
• walnuts
• pecans
• chestnuts

All samples are tested for Shigatoxigenic E. coli, E. coli O157, Salmonella spp. and aflatoxins.

Summary of results

2024

All 25 samples tested negative for microbial contamination and aflatoxins.

2023

All 20 samples tested negative for microbial contamination and aflatoxins.

2022

All 20 samples tested negative for microbial contamination and aflatoxins.

2021

All 20 samples tested negative for microbial contamination and aflatoxins.

2020

All 20 samples tested negative for microbial contamination and aflatoxins.

Contact us

For more information about OMAFA’s FSM Program, email the Inspection Programs Unit by email at fpo.omafra@ontario.ca or call 1-877-424-1300.