Food Safety and Growth Initiative

Who is eligible?

• Small primary producers involved in eligible crop or livestock production, including controlled environment agriculture and fruit tree nurseries
• Slaughterhouses and abattoirs
• Agri-food processors (excluding pet food, fertilizer, bio-processing, and waste companies)
• Packing houses for food products
• Service providers offering cold storage, food distribution, direct food contact packaging manufacturing, or laboratory services to eligible producers or processors

Who is not eligible

• Companies engaged in aquaponic food production, aquaculture, seaweed, fish, or seafood production and processing.
• Commissaries (such as ready-to-eat counters), brewpubs, brand owners, pet food manufacturers, fertilizer manufacturers, bio-processing companies (food or industrial), and food/agricultural commodity or bioprocessor waste companies.
• Businesses that do not handle or process the specified eligible food products listed in the program guidelines.
• Primary producers who are solely landowners, renters, or employers providing housing to international agricultural workers, without active production activities.
• Applicants unable to identify an appropriate NAICS code from the guideline's appendix that matches their core business activity.

Eligible expenses

• Purchase and installation of equipment and technology upgrades for food safety monitoring, surveillance, data collection, lab testing, and analysis.
• Material and equipment costs, including pre-owned equipment from a licensed seller, as well as equipment rental or service fees related to food safety improvements.
• Salaries and wages for employees working directly on the project (pro-rated if not fully dedicated).
• Third-party assessment, gap analysis, consulting, audit, or expert fees for identifying or implementing food safety or traceability improvements.
• Development or improvement of food safety or traceability programs, including documentation, procedures, and action plans.
• Initial costs for barcode or automated product identification systems (including one-time company prefix license, initial activation, and national product registry registration, limited to 6 months).
• Costs for training related to new equipment, technology upgrades, or food safety systems, including vendor-provided or third-party training.
• Costs for supporting or managing information sharing networks (e.g. cloud-based subscription services or dedicated project staff) that directly support a new food safety or traceability process, limited to 6 months.
• Structural modifications necessary for implementing eligible equipment, technology upgrades, or written programs.
• Third-party course, training, and materials costs for food safety or traceability (from colleges, universities, program owners, accredited bodies, or qualified industry organizations).
• For Primary Producers only: in-kind costs for unpaid labour and use of own farm equipment (within specified hourly rates and limits).

Eligible geographic areas

• Ontario

• Applicants can have a maximum of two approved projects under this Initiative, requiring a separate application for each project.
• Applicants must retain all financial records related to Initiative Payments for seven years after funds are received.
• Applicants must report any potential merger or acquisition discussions within five business days to the Ministry during their participation in the Initiative.
• Any Initiative Payment received is considered income for tax purposes under the Income Tax Act (Canada).