Canadians are well served with Chicken Farmers of Canada’s on-farm food safety program. We have created an auditable program called Raised by a Canadian Farmer On Farm Food Safety that combines good production practices and internationally recognized principles for raising chicken for meat in Canada. Chicken farmers in Canada are audited annually on this program.

In this program, antibiotic use is reported with every flock that is sent to processing and this is reviewed by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency. Additionally, as part of the annual audit, auditors audit the antibiotic usage and ensure withdrawal times are adhered to. The Raised by a Canadian Farmer On Farm Food Safety is a credible program that received technical recognition from the federal, provincial and territorial governments in 2013. On farm surveillance of resistance and use is coordinated by CIPARS – the Canadian Integrated Program for Antibiotic Resistance Surveillance of the Public Health Agency of Canada – and Chicken Farmers of Canada has been an active participant in this program.