Act
Proposal to amend the Milk Act and the Food Safety and Quality Act, 2001
Regulation Number(s):
n/a
Instrument Type:
Act
Bill or Act:
Milk Act
Summary of Proposal:
The Milk Act was introduced in 1965 as the legal foundation for the orderly marketing system for cow milk in Ontario, with provisions that date back to the 1930s. While regulated marketing and food safety regulatory requirements were enhanced incrementally over time for cow milk (and eventually food safety requirements added for goat milk), the Milk Act requires updates to better support a modern dairy industry:
• The milk components found in dairy products no longer strictly come from unprocessed raw milk and cream - milk ingredients (rather than raw milk) are increasingly used by processors in the manufacturing of dairy products.
• There is inconsistent regulatory food safety oversight of milk in Ontario because the Milk Act does not provide for oversight of the production, transportation or processing of milk from species other than cow and goat. This situation persists even though the same food safety risks exist for milk from different species (cow, goat, sheep, water buffalo). Furthermore, the food safety policy for cow and goat milk is developed by the Ontario Farm products Marketing Commission (OFPMC) - an agency comprised of part-time appointees of the Lieutenant Governor in Council (LGIC) where food safety is not part of its core mandate.
Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Agribusiness (OMAFA) is proposing two sets of legislative amendments to the Milk Act and one set of amendments to the Food Safety and Quality Act, 2001 (FSQA) to support a modern and efficient dairy sector going forward. It is important to note that the proposed amendments do not affect the general application of the supply management system for dairy. For further details on the proposed legislative changes and potential future regulatory changes, please see the document entitled: A Proposal to Amend the Milk Act and the Food Safety and Quality Act, 2001: Discussion Paper.
Proposed Amendments to Support Consistent End Use Pricing
Under the Canadian dairy supply management system, milk is priced based on the type of product that it is processed into. If milk is used to process a product and that product is in turn used as an ingredient in the processing of a different type of dairy product, the milk is billed according to this end use product. This policy is inclusive of both processors who purchase from dairy marketing boards (called milk buyers) and those who purchase dairy ingredients from other processors to then make a dairy product (called non-milk buyers). In Ontario, the implementation of this pricing system is limited by the existing definition of a regulated product under the Milk Act (milk, cream or cheese) and doesn't account for intermediary milk products (ingredients) that are increasingly used in the manufacturing of dairy products. Regulations under the Milk Act do not currently provide the Dairy Farmers of Ontario (DFO) with the authority to regulate non-milk buyers (who purchase milk ingredients from milk buyers to make a dairy product), which is needed to enforce end use pricing policies.
OMAFA is proposing legislative amendments under the Milk Act to support consistency in the end use pricing of milk products. The proposed amendments would expand the definition of a regulated product to include milk products, or milk products used as ingredients in processing. Subsequent amendments to regulations under the Act would provide DFO with authority to licence any person marketing milk products and ensure their compliance with the end use pricing regime. These proposed amendments seek to safeguard the integrity of the supply management system, including creating uniform market conditions for processors whether they buy milk from DFO or not.
Proposed Amendments to Enable Dairy Legislative Alignment
OMAFA is proposing to amend the Milk Act and the FSQA to enable the transfer of food safety and quality provisions from the Milk Act and its regulations to future regulations under the FSQA. This would allow for the future development of modern, outcome-based dairy food safety regulations for milk and milk products from all species under a more suitable statute (FSQA) made by the LGIC, as is the case with all other foods in Ontario. OMAFA will look for appropriate opportunities to reduce regulatory compliance obligations for businesses as a part of the legislative alignment while continuing to safeguard the public interest. The Milk Act would continue to focus on the regulated marketing of cow milk.
As a result of the Milk Act's focus on regulated marketing, the OFPMC - an agency that oversees matters of regulated marketing for commodities - is currently responsible for policy decision-making regarding food safety regulations for milk and milk products from cows and goats. It is generally accepted that modern approaches to food safety oversight include enabling modern food safety statutes that allow for risk-based regulatory oversight across all foods and that is also directly accountable to government.
In addition, the Milk Act does not contain specific regulatory requirements for the production or transportation of milk from species other than cows and goats (e.g., sheep, water buffalo). This milk is currently subject to general oversight from Public Health Units in accordance with the HPPA. Milk and milk products are inherently higher risk foods in terms of food safety. The same food safety risks exist for milk from different species (cow, goat, sheep, water buffalo) and thus inspection oversight for all milking species should be under a common regulatory framework that is best suited to address the inherently higher risk.
The proposal would provide opportunity to update and consolidate the regulated marketing provisions under Milk Act, and balance public and industry interests by giving regulation-making authority for food safety currently held by the OFPMC to the LGIC (as with all other foods).
The proposal would require legislative amendments to the FSQA, the Milk Act and its regulations, and the HPPA (references to Milk Act) to allow for development of regulations to support regulated marketing and food safety. Furthermore, these amendments would allow for the creation of future modern regulations for the production, transportation, and processing of milk and milk products from all milking species under the FSQA. The existing regulated marketing provisions would remain under the Milk Act.
If made, it is proposed that the food safety and quality provisions under the Milk Act and its regulations would be maintained until regulations for production, transportation, and processing of all milk are under the FSQA and a new marketing regulation (without food safety provisions) under the Milk Act are developed, approved, and come into force.
• The milk components found in dairy products no longer strictly come from unprocessed raw milk and cream - milk ingredients (rather than raw milk) are increasingly used by processors in the manufacturing of dairy products.
• There is inconsistent regulatory food safety oversight of milk in Ontario because the Milk Act does not provide for oversight of the production, transportation or processing of milk from species other than cow and goat. This situation persists even though the same food safety risks exist for milk from different species (cow, goat, sheep, water buffalo). Furthermore, the food safety policy for cow and goat milk is developed by the Ontario Farm products Marketing Commission (OFPMC) - an agency comprised of part-time appointees of the Lieutenant Governor in Council (LGIC) where food safety is not part of its core mandate.
Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Agribusiness (OMAFA) is proposing two sets of legislative amendments to the Milk Act and one set of amendments to the Food Safety and Quality Act, 2001 (FSQA) to support a modern and efficient dairy sector going forward. It is important to note that the proposed amendments do not affect the general application of the supply management system for dairy. For further details on the proposed legislative changes and potential future regulatory changes, please see the document entitled: A Proposal to Amend the Milk Act and the Food Safety and Quality Act, 2001: Discussion Paper.
Proposed Amendments to Support Consistent End Use Pricing
Under the Canadian dairy supply management system, milk is priced based on the type of product that it is processed into. If milk is used to process a product and that product is in turn used as an ingredient in the processing of a different type of dairy product, the milk is billed according to this end use product. This policy is inclusive of both processors who purchase from dairy marketing boards (called milk buyers) and those who purchase dairy ingredients from other processors to then make a dairy product (called non-milk buyers). In Ontario, the implementation of this pricing system is limited by the existing definition of a regulated product under the Milk Act (milk, cream or cheese) and doesn't account for intermediary milk products (ingredients) that are increasingly used in the manufacturing of dairy products. Regulations under the Milk Act do not currently provide the Dairy Farmers of Ontario (DFO) with the authority to regulate non-milk buyers (who purchase milk ingredients from milk buyers to make a dairy product), which is needed to enforce end use pricing policies.
OMAFA is proposing legislative amendments under the Milk Act to support consistency in the end use pricing of milk products. The proposed amendments would expand the definition of a regulated product to include milk products, or milk products used as ingredients in processing. Subsequent amendments to regulations under the Act would provide DFO with authority to licence any person marketing milk products and ensure their compliance with the end use pricing regime. These proposed amendments seek to safeguard the integrity of the supply management system, including creating uniform market conditions for processors whether they buy milk from DFO or not.
Proposed Amendments to Enable Dairy Legislative Alignment
OMAFA is proposing to amend the Milk Act and the FSQA to enable the transfer of food safety and quality provisions from the Milk Act and its regulations to future regulations under the FSQA. This would allow for the future development of modern, outcome-based dairy food safety regulations for milk and milk products from all species under a more suitable statute (FSQA) made by the LGIC, as is the case with all other foods in Ontario. OMAFA will look for appropriate opportunities to reduce regulatory compliance obligations for businesses as a part of the legislative alignment while continuing to safeguard the public interest. The Milk Act would continue to focus on the regulated marketing of cow milk.
As a result of the Milk Act's focus on regulated marketing, the OFPMC - an agency that oversees matters of regulated marketing for commodities - is currently responsible for policy decision-making regarding food safety regulations for milk and milk products from cows and goats. It is generally accepted that modern approaches to food safety oversight include enabling modern food safety statutes that allow for risk-based regulatory oversight across all foods and that is also directly accountable to government.
In addition, the Milk Act does not contain specific regulatory requirements for the production or transportation of milk from species other than cows and goats (e.g., sheep, water buffalo). This milk is currently subject to general oversight from Public Health Units in accordance with the HPPA. Milk and milk products are inherently higher risk foods in terms of food safety. The same food safety risks exist for milk from different species (cow, goat, sheep, water buffalo) and thus inspection oversight for all milking species should be under a common regulatory framework that is best suited to address the inherently higher risk.
The proposal would provide opportunity to update and consolidate the regulated marketing provisions under Milk Act, and balance public and industry interests by giving regulation-making authority for food safety currently held by the OFPMC to the LGIC (as with all other foods).
The proposal would require legislative amendments to the FSQA, the Milk Act and its regulations, and the HPPA (references to Milk Act) to allow for development of regulations to support regulated marketing and food safety. Furthermore, these amendments would allow for the creation of future modern regulations for the production, transportation, and processing of milk and milk products from all milking species under the FSQA. The existing regulated marketing provisions would remain under the Milk Act.
If made, it is proposed that the food safety and quality provisions under the Milk Act and its regulations would be maintained until regulations for production, transportation, and processing of all milk are under the FSQA and a new marketing regulation (without food safety provisions) under the Milk Act are developed, approved, and come into force.
Analysis of Regulatory Impact:
As the proposed legislative amendments are enabling in nature, it is not anticipated that these amendments, if passed and proclaimed into force, would result in any additional administrative, operational or capital costs for parties subject to this legislation.
Further Information:
Milk Act
Food Safety and Quality Act, 2001
Health Protection and Promotion Act
A Proposal to Amend the Milk Act and the Food Safety and Quality Act, 2001
(Download Adobe Reader)
Proposal Number:
24-OMAFRA020
Posting Date:
December 18, 2024
Comments Due Date:
February 14, 2025
Contact Address:
Food Safety and Environmental Policy Branch
1 Stone Road West, 2nd Floor, Guelph ON, N1G 4Y2
1 Stone Road West, 2nd Floor, Guelph ON, N1G 4Y2