Quebec meal-kit company Goodfood’s federal licence suspended over food-safety breaches

A Goodfood banner at its head office in Montreal on Nov. 6. 2023. (Ryan Remiorz/The Canadian Press)

Quebec meal-kit company Goodfood has had its licence suspended after the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) found it failed to comply with food-safety requirements under the Safe Food for Canadians Regulations.

The Dec. 30 suspension prohibits Goodfood Market Corp from conducting any activity for which its federal licence was issued.

There is no recall associated with the suspension.

According to the agency, the licence will be reinstated once it determines the company has implemented corrective measures.

“If corrective action is not taken within 90 days after the suspension, the licence may be cancelled,” the agency said in a press release.

CFIA says that the licence may also be cancelled on other grounds set out in section 39 of the regulations. Cancellation may occur after the company has been notified of the grounds for cancellation and provided with an opportunity to be heard.

In a statement, Goodfood acknowledged the suspension and said it was disappointed by the agency’s decision.

“Our customers can be confident that our products are safe and meet high standards of safety; there are no food safety issues at our facility and the suspension relates mostly to procedural aspects of the license (for example the review of complaints),” the company said.

Goodfood added that its customers will be minimally impacted by the suspension and noted that orders across Canada will still be delivered, with some exceptions.

According to Goodfood, its Calgary facility remains fully operational and will continue to deliver meals as planned.

“The decision to suspend the license came from the [CFIA’s] National Director’s office in Toronto on the basis of perceived non-compliances, which are largely procedural in nature. Again, there are no food safety issues.”

The company said it expects the suspension to be short-lived and that it has requested a review in the short term because the agency does not have an appeals process.

“We are confident that any gaps that are perceived to exist would be closed in the coming hours or days.”