Unlocking Canada’s Food Innovation Potential
through Regulatory Modernization

Closed workshop, by invitation only

February 4, 2026
Hilton Garden Inn Ottawa Downtown
361 Queen Street, Ottawa, Ontario

Special booking rate available for attendees requiring overnight accommodation:
BOOK HOTEL 

Canada’s food and health-product regulatory landscape is evolving, with an increasing focus on efficiency, global alignment, and innovation. The Canadian Nutrition Society (CNS) is pleased to host this workshop, which brings together government, industry, and academic stakeholders to collaboratively explore pathways for modernizing food-safety risk assessment and regulatory processes. 

Through expert dialogue, case studies, and collaborative problem-solving, participants will examine practical approaches to streamline requirements, strengthen international cooperation, and applying consistent, risk- and science-based methods. The goal is to support regulatory systems that protect public health while enabling innovation and improving responsiveness to emerging issues.

The workshop aims to build consensus on key principles, develop actionable strategies, and establish a foundation for continued cross-sector collaboration—positioning Canada as a global leader in modern, efficient food-safety assessment and regulatory practices.

Workshop Goals

  1. Improve Efficiency and Harmonization in Food-Safety Risk Assessment
    Identify strategies that address current challenges and better coordinate risk-assessment practices across sectors. This includes efforts that reduce regulatory burden enhance alignment and strengthen Canada’s global competitiveness in food and nutrition innovation – ultimately positioning Canada as a leader in science-based, modern assessment processes.
     
  2. Establish a Collective Approach to Regulatory Improvement
    Develop shared principles and concrete actions to modernize and align and enhance assessment practices while upholding strong public-health protections and safety standards. 
     
  3. Expand Opportunities for Ongoing Collaboration
    Identify mechanisms to support continued engagement and partnership between government, industry and academia following the workshop.
     
  4. Generate Recommendations for Regulatory Modernization
    Produce clear, actionable recommendations to support long-term improvements in food-safety assessment and regulatory processes.
     
  5. Support the Government of Canada’s Red Tape Reduction Initiative
    Advance regulatory modernization efforts by promoting streamlined processes, international alignment, risk-based approaches, and innovation – contributing to a more agile and effective regulatory system. 

Thanks to the following organizations for financial support that has made this workshop possible:

Planning Committee members:

Unlocking Canada’s food innovation potential  through regulatory modernization workshop

Draft program; subject to change.   

Wed. Feb. 4, 2026 - 8:30am - 4:30pm. All times ET

8:30am ET
CNS Welcome & Land Acknowledgement 
Stéphanie Chevalier, PhD, CNS President / Associate Professor, School of Human Nutrition, McGill University  VIEW BIO
8:35am ET
Workshop Overview 
Rickey Yada, PhD, Dean, Faculty of Agricultural, Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Alberta VIEW BIO

Segment 1 - Setting the Stage about Regulatory Modernization

8:45 am ET
Food and Nutrition Directorate mandate and priorities
Speaker: Dr. Joyce Boye, Director General, Food and Nutrition Directorate (FND), Health Canada
9:00am ET
Innovation process bottlenecks in Canadian food innovation
Speaker: to be confirmed
9:20am ET
Canada’s appeal as a target market for food industry – Regulatory challenges 
Speaker: to be confirmed
9:40am ET
Q&A / Discussion
10:00am ET
Break (15 mins)

Segment  2 - Taking stock of current regulatory processes and barriers for change 

10:15am ET
Food and Nutrition Directorate pre-market rIsk assessment practices and process - Novel Foods as a case study
Speaker: Mr. Neil Strand, Haed, Novel Foods Section, Bureau of Microbial Hazards, FND, Health Canada
10:30am ET
Discontinuation of incidential additive and processing aid reviews
Speaker: Dr. John Field, Chief, Chemical Health Hazard Assessment Division - Contaminants & Package, FND, Health Canada
10:45am ET
Proposed risk-based approach for the authorization of infant food for special dietary purpose
Speaker: Dr. Alfred Aziz, Director, Bureau of Nutritional Sciences, FND, Health Canada
11:00am ET
What have we learned? Safety assessment principles and goals and flexibility 
Speaker: William Yan, PhD, Regulatory Affairs Specialist, University of Ottawa  VIEW BIO
11:15am ET
What are we learning? A look at other jurisdictions and how they are facilitating innovation
11:30am ET
Discussion and Panel
12:00pm ET
Lunch

Segment  3 - Technical Case on specific focus areas 

12:50pm ET
Infant formula challenges and solutions for alignment
Speaker: Teresa Mastrodicasa, Vice President, Food & Consumer Products Policy & Regulatory Affairs, FHCP  VIEW BIO
1:10pm ET
Hypothesis driven food safety assessment using biotech plants 
Speaker: Ani Raychaudhuri, Bayer  VIEW BIO
1:30pm ET
Creating efficiencies in risk and safety assessment while driving toward a safe, agile, and responsive regulatory environment
Speaker: To be confirmed
1:50pm ET
Q&A/Discussion

Segment  4 - Overcoming Barriers / Taking Action

2:00pm ET
What we heard – Report back on our pre-work survey: Challenges, Barriers and Opporutnities
Speaker: Rickey Yada
2:15pm ET
Breakout groups 
3:15pm ET
Breakout Group Report Back / Discussion
4:15pm ET
Closing Remarks and Next Steps
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