The following is provided by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA)
Watermark on OMIC for meat products imported from United States of America
Since June 13, 2022, the Official Meat Inspection Certificates (OMIC) for meat and poultry products imported from United States are generated through the Public Health Information System (PHIS). Certificates are digitally signed in PHIS, containing the watermark: “Approved Certificate – Available for Validation in PHIS”.
The printed version of the OMIC must accompany the meat products shipment and an electronic copy must be presented to the National Import Service Centre (NISC) before the importation. To prevent the transaction from being refused when submitting paper documentation to NISC, the watermark must be legible on the electronic copy of the OMIC submitted. Any OMIC presented to NISC without a legible watermark will be denied entry into Canada.
SFC licence number for importation of meat products to Canada
Since 2019, certain food businesses require a licence to import food under the Safe Food for Canadians Regulations (SFCR).
As per the Automated Import Reference System (AIRS) the Safe Food for Canadian (SFC) licence number is required to import food into Canada.
The information declared to the National Import Service Centre (NISC) such as the address and legal name of the licence holder must match to the information provided at the time of the SFC licence application and to those on the SFC Licence Registry. Currently, not all Official Meat Inspection Certificates (OMIC) have been updated to capture the SFC licence information. Discrepancies between the information provided on the OMIC or in the importation declaration with those on the SFC Licence Registry may cause the transaction to be refused when submitting paper documentation to the NISC. To prevent future refusal, please verify the information on the SFC Licence Registry.
Note that you can always update information in your SFC licence using the online application My CFIA.