CFIA Moves Greek and Icelandic Meat to Refuse Entry — What That Means for Your Shipments

What Changed

CFIA published a Chapter 02 update to AIRS (Automated Import Reference System) on June 15 that moves a slate of Greek and Icelandic meat products from “Refer to CFIA – NISC” to “Refuse entry” for in-transit and other end uses. The affected codes span lamb, mutton, quail, and other animal species. If you import any of these, or if you’ve got a container crossing the Atlantic right now, the release recommendation just became a hard stop.

This isn’t a temporary hold pending inspection. Refuse entry means CBSA will not release the goods into Canada. The shipment gets turned back, destroyed, re-exported, or sits in a sufferance warehouse while you argue an exemption that probably won’t land. For most importers, the practical answer is to cancel the order or reroute before it hits Canadian soil.

AIRS and Release Recommendations

AIRS is CFIA’s lookup table that tells CBSA whether a given HS code, origin country, and end-use combination can clear automatically, needs an inspection referral, or gets refused outright. When you file a CAD for a food shipment, the system checks AIRS in real time. If the recommendation is “Release,” CBSA lets it go. If it says “Refer to CFIA – NISC” (National Import Service Centre), the file goes to a CFIA inspector who may request lab results, facility audits, or additional declarations. If it says “Refuse entry,” the transaction stops.

Before June 15, Greek and Icelandic meat under the affected codes triggered a NISC referral. That meant delays, documentation requests, maybe a physical exam, but eventual release if the importer’s paperwork was clean. Now those same codes hit a wall. The system will not let CBSA release them, and there’s no inspection queue to join.

The Affected Codes

Greece

• 02.06.80.5159 (Other animal)
• 02.06.90.5169 (Other animal)
• 02.08.90.5248 (Quail)
• 02.10.99.5300 (Other animal species)

Iceland

• 02.04.10.5081 (Lamb, less than 13 months old)
• 02.04.21.5084 (Mutton)
• 02.04.22.5087 (Lamb, bone-in)
• 02.04.22.5088 (Mutton, bone-in)
• 02.04.23.5091 (Lamb, boneless)
• 02.04.23.5092 (Mutton, boneless)
• 02.04.30.5102 (Lamb, less than 13 months old)

The update summary in the CSCB digest cuts off mid-sentence, but the pattern is clear: this is a broad sweep of Icelandic sheep and lamb, plus a narrower set of Greek specialty meats. If you’re bringing in frozen lamb from Reykjavik or quail from Athens, check your HS classification and origin documentation before the shipment leaves the EU.

What to Do If You Have Goods in Transit

If your shipment is already on the water or in a bonded facility waiting for release, you have three realistic options:

1. Re-export. Fastest and cleanest if the supplier will take it back or if you can divert to a non-Canadian market. You’ll eat the freight cost, but you avoid storage fees and disposal charges.
2. Destruction under CBSA supervision. CFIA and CBSA will let you dispose of refused goods at an approved facility. Expect to pay for transport, destruction, and supervision. Not cheap, but it closes the file.
3. Appeal the refusal. CFIA does have a process for challenging AIRS determinations, but it’s slow, documentation-heavy, and usually fails unless you can prove a classification error or an exemption under a bilateral agreement. If your lawyer says you have a case, fine. Otherwise, don’t park the shipment in a warehouse for three months hoping for a miracle.

If the goods are still in the EU, cancel the order or reroute. The cost of a contract dispute is smaller than the cost of a refused shipment sitting in Montreal accruing demurrage and storage.

Why This Matters Beyond Meat Importers

AIRS updates happen regularly. CFIA publishes them on inspection.canada.ca under the Safe Food for Canadians Regulations (SFCR) framework, and most of the time they’re narrow technical fixes that affect a handful of importers. This one is unusual because it flips a referral to a refusal without a public health incident or a border closure announcement. That suggests either a compliance failure at the origin country’s certification level or a policy shift that hasn’t been communicated in plain language yet.

If you import other animal products, dairy, or plant material subject to CFIA control, treat this as a reminder to check AIRS before every shipment. The system updates without warning. A code that cleared last month may not clear today. Your broker should be checking AIRS as part of the pre-clearance review, but if you’re self-filing CADs or using a broker who doesn’t run that check, you’re flying blind.

Filing Notes

When you file a CAD for a Chapter 02 shipment, the OGD (Other Government Department) requirements pull from CFIA’s commodity code table. If AIRS says refuse, the CAD transmission will error out before CBSA even sees it. You won’t get a release hold or an exam notice. The system will reject the filing and tell you why.

If you’re using PARS (Pre-Arrival Review System) and you submit the cargo control document before the truck crosses, you’ll get the refusal notice before the driver reaches the booth. That’s the best-case scenario because you can turn the truck around without a formal entry. If you’re filing post-arrival under RMD (Release on Minimum Documentation), the goods are already on Canadian soil and the refusal triggers the re-export or destruction process.

Either way, the compliance clock starts when CBSA scans the cargo control number. If the shipment sits in a bonded warehouse while you figure out what to do, you’re paying storage at the facility’s bonded rate. Most sufferance operators charge by the day, and meat products may incur additional cold storage fees if the commodity requires refrigeration. Budget for that when you’re deciding whether to appeal.

The Bigger AIRS Pattern

CFIA has been tightening AIRS over the past 18 months, particularly around non-US animal products. The agency’s risk model assumes that imports from countries without equivalency agreements under SFCR carry higher contamination or disease risk. Greece and Iceland both have robust food safety systems, so this update is likely driven by certification gaps or traceability issues rather than an actual contamination event.

For importers, the takeaway is straightforward: don’t assume that a shipment cleared last quarter will clear this quarter. If your supply chain relies on niche origins or commodity codes near the edge of CFIA’s approved list, build a plan B. That might mean dual-sourcing from a US or CUSMA-origin supplier, or it might mean switching to a different HS code if your product can be processed differently without losing its commercial value.

We run AIRS checks on every food CAD we file, and we flag origin-risk codes at the quote stage so importers know what they’re walking into. If your current broker isn’t doing that, you’re learning about refusals the hard way. Get in touch.

Source: CSCB