The safety and integrity of Canada’s food production system is trusted worldwide, in part because our assurance system is government-mandated and national in scope. All Canadian food-quality soybeans must meet strict tolerances for soundness, cleanliness, uniformity of size, colour, test weight and a long list of other criteria.
Most Canadian exporting companies follow the principles of HACCP and do their own due diligence by having samples analyzed at independent third-party laboratories. This provides additional assurance that products are within Canadian and international standards.
Canadian Grain Commission
Canada’s official grain certification authority
The mandate of the Canadian Grain Commission (CGC), as set out in federal legislation, is to set standards for grain quality and regulate grain handling in Canada – all with the aim of ensuring a dependable product for our customers.
The CGC monitors safety, quality and quantity by grading and inspecting all bulk vessel shipments. Samples of all food-grade soybeans exported from Canada are analyzed for trace organics (pesticide residues and mycotoxins), trace elements (including heavy metals) and microbiology (mycology and bacteria). The advanced technology used by the CGC meets the accuracy and precision requirements for ultra-trace levels of pesticides established by importing countries and international organizations such as CODEX.
Learn more about CGC methods and tests to measure oilseed quality.
Identity Preserved Soybeans
The world’s most integrated system for quality management
For an even higher assurance of quality, buyers can contract production and delivery of soybeans through the Canadian Identity Preserved Recognition System (CIPRS), which is overseen by the CGC. Canada’s fully integrated system has an unmatched track record for delivering the right product to the right customer. It ensures that soybeans are grown to customer specifications, and that best practices are followed at every stage of production, processing, handling and transport.
Learn more about the Canadian Identity Preserved Recognition System.
HACCP and HACCP+CIPRS
CGC also conducts quality assurance and preventative grain safety programs based on the internationally accepted Codex principals of HACCP (Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point).
One program, called CIPRS+HACCP, is designed for companies that operate Identity Preserved programs. Another program, called CGC HACCP, is for grain companies that do not operate IP programs. Both programs are voluntary, and provide for third party audits and CGC certification.
Learn more about CGC HACCP and CIPRS+HACCP.
Canada’s Grain Elevator System
An important link in delivering quality
Soybean growing regions are served by hundreds of high-throughput elevators, and many can segregate specific varieties and specialty traits for buyers using the Canadian Identity Preserved Recognition System. Many elevators have modern Harada roller separators and optical sorting equipment, in addition to their excellent processing lines of cleaners, gravity sorters, destoners and polishers. This equipment ensures that soybeans leave the elevator at the specific quality standard the customer has come to expect.