Bringing bulk nuts into Canada isn't just a shipping exercise — it's a regulated food import, governed primarily by the Safe Food for Canadians Regulations (SFCR) and enforced by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA). This isn't legal advice, and requirements can change or vary by product and volume — but here's the shape of what a Canadian buyer typically needs to have sorted before a container of walnuts, almonds or cashews actually lands.
Who needs an SFC licence
Under the SFCR, most businesses that import food into Canada for further sale or distribution need a Safe Food for Canadians (SFC) licence, issued by CFIA. This applies whether you're a distributor, a packer, or a manufacturer bringing in raw nuts as an ingredient. The licence isn't tied to a single shipment — it's a standing authorization tied to your business and the food categories you handle, so it's something to have in place before your first import, not something you scramble for once a shipment is already at port.
What CFIA actually checks
CFIA's interest in an imported nut shipment generally centres on:
- Food safety — that the product is safe for human consumption and free of contamination
- Labelling — that packaging meets Canadian bilingual labelling requirements once it reaches consumer-facing packaging
- Traceability — that you (and your supplier) can trace a specific lot back through the supply chain if a safety issue is ever identified
- Preventive controls — that your business has a documented food safety plan appropriate to what you import and how you handle it
This is exactly where supplier-side certification earns its keep. Our ISO 22000 food safety management certification and Halal certification, alongside lot-based traceability through our own processing, give a Canadian importer something concrete to point to when CFIA asks how a shipment's safety and traceability were managed upstream — rather than a supplier's word alone.
Documentation you'll want from your supplier
Before a shipment ships, a Canadian buyer typically wants:
- A commercial invoice and packing list matching the actual shipment, not a template
- A certificate of origin, particularly relevant given walnut kernel grades can be U.S. or Chinese origin — see our guide to Chandler, XIN2, 185 and Xingfu grades for why origin varies by grade
- Relevant food safety and quality certificates — our full set is listed on our Quality & Certificates page, including ISO 9001, ISO 22000 and Halal certification with certificate numbers and validity dates, not just logos
- A phytosanitary certificate, where applicable to the product and origin
Ask for these upfront, not after the shipment has already left port — a missing document at the Canadian border costs you time you don't get back.
HS codes and tariff classification
Correct Harmonized System (HS) classification determines the duty rate and any applicable tariff-rate quota that applies to your shipment. Misclassifying walnuts, almonds or cashews — deliberately or by accident — is a compliance risk that sits with the importer of record, so this is worth confirming with a licensed customs broker rather than guessing from a product description. We list HS codes on individual product pages as "on request" until we have a confirmed code we're comfortable stating in writing — a wrong code costs you more than a slightly delayed answer.
Working with a customs broker
Most Canadian importers of bulk food products work with a licensed customs broker to handle CBSA (Canada Border Services Agency) clearance, duty calculation and coordination with CFIA where inspection is required. If you don't already have one, this is worth arranging before your first shipment rather than during it — trying to find a broker while a container is already sitting at port adds cost and delay you can avoid entirely.
Building this into your supplier relationship
The relationship between good documentation and smooth customs clearance is direct: a supplier that ships consistent paperwork, confirmed HS codes and current certification lets your customs broker do their job quickly. That's part of why we treat this as a joint responsibility rather than "not our problem once it's on the boat" — see our production process for how batch tracking and export packing standards feed directly into the paperwork a Canadian import needs.
Talk to us before you order
If you're planning your first import of walnuts, almonds or cashews into Canada and want to understand what documentation we can provide ahead of a shipment, request a quote and mention it in your message — we'd rather sort this out with you in advance than after a container is already moving.