Improving public health and the environment food safety
The ministry works to protect public health and minimise the risk of disease as part of an overall strategy for food safety. The ministry is working with Health Canada, the Canadian Food Inspection, the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care, the Ministry of Health Promotion, Public Health and industry to fulfill its mandate in food safety.

The Ontario Strategy for Food Safety (SOSA) allows the government to better protect public health, to correct the shortcomings in the food safety system and increase opportunities for marketing of food products in Ontario. It addresses the recommendations of Judge Haines in its report examining the regulation and inspection of meat. The SOSA is designed to encompass all major commodities from Ontario, including meat, poultry, dairy products, fish and fruit and vegetables. The initiative "from field to table" is the result of concerted efforts OMAFRA, the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care and the Department of Natural Resources.

In recent years, several improvements have been made to the food safety system in the province, including stricter regulation of meat and funds to assist processing plants to meet the new requirements, a new system of practice 'Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP Advantage) to ensure food safety in processing plants of small and medium-sized, the creation of the Office of the Chief Veterinarian of Ontario; Plan intervention 'emergency animal disease of foreign origin, and a strategy of food safety at the farm.

Number of enterprises food processing in Ontario certified under HACCP Advantage
The Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) is a management system of food safety recognized internationally which helps prevent risks related to manufacturing, processing and handling of food . The Advantage Series programs for food safety form the basis of the "made in Ontario," based on HACCP, which provides a common platform for the implementation of systems to ensure food safety throughout the chain of production.

The HACCP Advantage was designed for institutions small and medium importance. It provides a gradual and voluntary approach to the management of food safety to help meet the needs of their markets and their suppliers.

Looking ahead, the ministry will continue to implement the various elements of SOSA. In 2007-2008, investments will include employees for the following purposes: to help 25 food processing plants in the province to obtain certification under the HACCP Advantage; retain the services of regulation, inspection, investigation and Implementing regulations, and assist processing plants meat to make the changes required by new regulations.

The work undertaken within the framework of the Review Canada-Ontario meat inspection, which aims to harmonize national and provincial standards on meat safety and to integrate the two systems of meat inspection to improve performance and efficiency, will continue. In addition, the ministry will continue to implement the Food Safety Initiative (ISA), the federal-provincial-territorial with $ 20 million over three years. Major component of the strategic framework for agriculture (CSA), this initiative will enhance the establishment of systems for food safety in the field of food processing.

In accordance with the law, OMAFRA approves plans and strategies nutrient management at the farm, while the inspections and enforcement under the Ministry of Environment. The government provides a total of $ 23.7 million to help more than 600 large farmers to make improvements related to the environment and meet the requirements of the Act. The aid, combined with financial assistance available to them by the federal government through the Agricultural Policy Framework, may allow producers to recover up to 90 percent of their costs.

This is called "nutrient" any element that is applied, injected or buried by labour to improve growing conditions for crops. The two types of nutrients are the most common elements that promote the healthy growth of plants, such as commercial fertilizers and manure, and those that improve soil quality, such as compost and by-products processing food.