On July 11, 2025, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) released the 2025 temporary Safe Food for Canadians (SFC) licence conditions for importing romaine lettuce and products containing romaine lettuce from the United States. This year, the temporary import requirements are the same as last year.

Romaine lettuce imported from the US has been linked to multiple outbreaks of foodborne E.coli illnesses, and the CFIA has worked jointly with US authorities to identify the source of these outbreaks and to protect Canadians, annually implementing temporary SFC license conditions to mitigate the risk of exposure to this illness.

Complete details on the SFC license conditions and other existing import requirements are outlined here:

• Temporary import requirements for romaine lettuce from the United States

‍Following is a recap of the Import Requirements:

‍Affected Commodities: Shipments of fresh romaine lettuce and salad mixes containing romaine that originate in the US and are imported from the US between September 25 and December 17, 2025.

‍For romaine and romaine products from the Salinas Valley of California (counties: Santa Cruz, Santa Clara, San Benito, and Monterey:

1. Importer Attestation (using form CFIA/ACIA 5961) that sampling was conducted according to the temporary SFC license conditions.

AND

2. Certificate of Analysis demonstrating that the product does not contain detectable levels of E. coli O157:H7.

For romaine and romaine products from outside the Salinas Valley of California:

1. Proof of Origin indicating the state and county where the romaine lettuce was harvested, if the romaine lettuce is from outside of the California counties of Santa Cruz, Santa Clara, San Benito, and Monterey.
2. The proof of origin must be on the exporter’s letterhead and detail the products or shipment it is applicable to, and be dated and signed.
   
   • If Proof of Origin of the romaine lettuce is not available, the Importer Attestation and Certificate of Analysis must be provided.

These requirements are in addition to the standard import requirements for vegetables and leafy greens. Existing import requirements for all leafy greens are:

• The importer must have a valid Safe Food for Canadians (SFC) Licence for importing produce.
• The importer must have a Dispute Resolution Corporation (DRC) membership or be exempt. 
• Romaine (and other leafy greens) from California must be handled by a member of the California Leafy Green Marketing Agreement (LGMA).
• Romaine (and other leafy greens) from Arizona must be handled by a member of the Arizona Leafy Green Marking Agreement (LGMA).
• Organic Products must be accompanied by a copy of the Organic Certification.