1. An SFC licence defines activity scope; it does not approve a SKU
CFIA licences specified activities and food categories. Applicants must select categories and sub-categories that match the actual food. Its guidance places snack foods within manufactured foods in relevant cases, while some processed fruit formats may relate to processed fruits and vegetables.
Classification must therefore follow the real formula, form, process and intended use. The marketing name ‘durian snack’ is not enough to infer the licence category or shipment requirements.
2. AIRS and the import declaration are separate gates
CFIA says AIRS contains food import requirements and is updated frequently. Importers should check it before import and use the appropriate HS code and CFIA OGD extension.
The guide modified 1 September 2026 says every applicable requirement must be met before a declaration is accepted. If a transaction is rejected, the shipment is denied entry until the error is corrected and the declaration is resubmitted. An AIRS result and a licence are therefore not transaction acceptance evidence.
3. Product compliance must reach the actual formula and label
CFIA's manufactured-food guidance, modified 23 July 2026, makes importers responsible for meeting applicable safety and consumer-protection requirements under the SFCR and Food and Drug Regulations.
Each SKU file should lock its formula, ingredients, allergens, pack size, label and applicable requirements to a controlled version. A correctly scoped licence does not cure a composition or labelling gap.
4. A PCP needs design evidence and implementation records
CFIA's importer guide describes preventive control plan elements including hazard identification, control measures, verification, implementation records and a description of the foreign supplier's system.
When using a certificate of analysis, verify that sampling, analytical method, date, product identity and lot code connect to the actual shipment. An unlinked certificate should not substitute for lot evidence.
5. The seven-layer Canada Import Evidence File
A useful file traces a shipment outcome back to product identity and control systems without letting one document stand in for another.
- Licence holder, current status, activity, category and sub-category scope
- Controlled SKU master: formula, process, ingredients, allergens, label and version
- Dated AIRS snapshot, answers, HS code and OGD extension used
- PCP hazard analysis, controls, verification and implementation records
- Supplier, facility, specification, COA, sampling method and lot linkage
- Import declaration, commercial documents, acceptance or reject messages and corrections
- Traceability, immediate supplier and customer, complaints, recall and shipment decision record
6. Why licence status requires ongoing verification
A CFIA notice published 25 August and modified 4 September 2026 reported a licence suspension after corrective-action issues involving hazard analysis, PCP, complaints, recall and traceability. That case is unrelated to durian or Siam Diamond, but it demonstrates that a licence does not replace continuing control-system compliance.
Before saying ready for Canada, verify licence scope and status, the current AIRS case, the implemented PCP, SKU and lot evidence, labelling, and the actual declaration outcome. This article does not classify a product, give a legal determination, or claim that Siam Diamond has an importer, licence or accepted shipment.
