Paul Bailey Email & Phone Number

Ontario, Canada

Since my retirement from the Foods of Plant Origin Program in the Food Inspection Branch at the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, I have assisted small Ontario food producers improve their food safety practices and prepare food safety documentation required for Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) licensing and/or for certification to a Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) benchmarked program. . To retain existing markets or to generate additional marketing opportunities within and outside Ontario, federal licencing by the CFIA may either be requested by local vendors as a condition of doing business or necessary to sell food products outside the province. Licencing involves meeting requirements of the Safe Food for Canadians (SFCR), including SFCR documentation and records, as well as successfully passing a CFIA inspection. Increasingly, certification to a Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) benchmarked program (e.g. SQF, BRCGS) by an independent third party auditor has become a prerequisite for buyers. GFSI benchmarked program requirements are much more encompassing and robust than SFCR requirements and, hence, more attractive to larger buyers.

Guelph, Ontario

Before becoming the Risk Identification and Management (RIM)Coordinator, I spent nearly two years as a food safety technical advisor to the Foods of Plant Origin (FPO) Program, followed by two years as a HACCP Food Safety Advisor in the Food Safety Programs Branch. In my role as RIM Coordinator, the RIM team and I conducted regulatory inspections of produce, honey and maple facilities throughout Ontario, identifying and assessing food safety risks and recommending mitigation strategies proportional to the identified risks. I also authored several food safety manuals for foods of plant origin producers and led a number of food safety seminars. For several years before my retirement from the Ministry, I was also the lead on the maple syrup food safety file and was widely recognized for my expertise in this area.

Jordan Station, On

JFF was a farmer owned tart cherry pitter. In my second year, following significant upgrades to the processing facility and worker training which I initiated, we achieved CFIA Food Safety Enhancement Program recognition, the first cherry pitter in Canada to do so. Because of a significant decline in cherry production in Niagara, the Board of Directors closed the business in 2003.

Wainfleet, Ontario

Feederbend Farms was a diversified business consisting of field crops, a farrow to finish hog operation, a small beef feedlot, a custom harvesting operation and a commercial grain elevator. The farm was sold in 1992.