What Importers Need to Know About Canada's Updated Pet Food Import Requirements

If you’re importing pet food into Canada, now is a good time to review your documentation and ensure it meets current CFIA requirements, before the product is booked, loaded, or presented at the border.

Pet food imports, including treats, chews, and supplements can move smoothly into Canada. The paperwork just has to tell a consistent story: origin, ingredients, processing, and CFIA requirements all lining up before cargo gets to the border. When they don’t, shipments get delayed, refused, or flagged for further review, and that’s a problem that’s almost always easier to solve at the desk than at the port.

At StraitLink Global, we help importers confirm entry requirements before freight moves, coordinate Canadian customs clearance, and flag missing permits or certificates early. Here’s what’s changed and what to check.

What Changed

Mexico certificates are changing. CFIA finalized new zoosanitary certification statements for pet food products from Mexico, including kibble, canned food, treats, jerky, simple pet chews, and compound chews. The AIRS publication is set for June 22, 2026, with a transition period running until August 22, 2026.

Some Mexico transshipments still need permits. Mexican pet food products imported into the US, released from official control, and then imported into Canada still require an import permit through MyCFIA.

Heat-treatment and testing standards are specific. For simple pet chews from Mexico, CFIA lists treatment standards including 85°C for 5 hours for certain bones, tails, and horns; 85°C for 2 hours for soft tissues; and Salmonella absence in 25g under the certificate testing language. This language has to match the product, not just be present.

US documentation is simpler than before. As of January 21, 2025, CFIA no longer requires the Importer’s Statement of Compliance for US pet food products. Shipments still need a proper shipping document and, where required, a USDA-APHIS zoosanitary export certificate referenced on that document.

What Importers Should Check Before Shipping

Run the product through AIRS. CFIA’s Automated Import Reference System shows requirements by commodity, origin, destination, end use, and HS classification. CFIA updates it frequently, so check it fresh for each shipment profile.
Confirm animal-origin ingredients. Pet food, treats, and chews containing animal products or by-products are regulated by CFIA to help prevent animal diseases from entering Canada.
Confirm permit requirements. If AIRS or CFIA requires an import permit, apply through MyCFIA before the shipment moves, not while it’s in transit.
Match every document. Invoice, bill of lading, packing list, zoosanitary certificate, permit, lot numbers, and product description should all tell the same story. Inconsistencies between documents are one of the most common causes of clearance delays.
Maintain lot-level traceability. Keep records showing supplier, production lot, quantity, import date, and distribution location.
Check labels early. Bilingual Canadian label requirements, ingredients, product identity, and packaging should be reviewed well before the product is anywhere near the border.

How StraitLink Handles Pet Food Files

We review before we release. Before booking, our Toronto-based team verifies the shipment profile (origin, ingredients, available certificates) and releases freight to the carrier only after that verification is complete.

We coordinate Canadian clearance. As a licensed Canadian customs broker, StraitLink reviews import documentation and confirms CFIA-related entry requirements before submission. You’re not guessing at what’s required; we’ve already checked.

We flag gaps before they become problems. If a certificate number, permit, treatment statement, or product description is missing or inconsistent, we raise it before the shipment reaches the border, not after it’s been flagged for inspection.

We manage timing. We work within the cut-off windows outlined in your StraitLink booking confirmation and adjust filing timelines when CFIA or carrier requirements require more lead time.

We keep communication clear. If a product needs a permit, inspection, correction, or supplier follow-up, we tell you what’s missing and what’s needed next, in plain language, not regulatory shorthand.

Final Thought

Pet food imports are manageable. The risk comes from assuming the same document package works for every origin, ingredient, and product type, because it doesn’t.

What does your specific product require? That’s exactly the kind of question worth asking before you book. Send us your product list, origin details, ingredients, and supplier documents and we’ll help confirm the AIRS requirements, permit needs, and clearance plan before your shipment is on the road.