Tackling spent fowl fraud at the border to protect consumers and support Canadian farmers

March 20, 2025 - Ottawa, Ontario - Canadian Food Inspection Agency

Today, the Honourable Kody Blois, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food and Rural Economic Development and the Honourable David J. McGuinty, Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, issued the following statement:

The Government of Canada is committed to protecting Canadian consumers, supporting our poultry industry, and ensuring a fair and transparent trade environment. The issue of spent fowl misrepresentation is one that demands decisive action. This is fraud and it undermines consumers, our farmers, distorts our markets, and puts Canadian jobs at risk.

That is why we are taking steps to enhance collaboration with industry and enforcement agencies and advance our efforts to address this issue. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) and the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) are working on sharing intelligence to develop an action plan to improve detection, enforce compliance, and ensure a level playing field for all.

Protecting Canadians and upholding the integrity of our food supply is a top priority. We will act decisively, working with partners to implement solutions that reinforce fairness, trust, and accountability.

Quick Facts

• Spent fowl misrepresentation is when broiler chicken (chicken raised for meat consumption) is intentionally misclassified as spent fowl (old laying hens) in order to avoid paying duties and taxes when bringing them into Canada.
• It is a less expensive grade of poultry meat that is tougher and tastes different than the more expensive broiler chicken. Spent fowl is duty free when imported from the United States under both the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA). Spent fowl is not subject to a tariff, whereas broiler chicken is.
• Since 2010, CBSA and CFIA have undertaken verifications and inspections that resulted in assessments of over $361 million dollars in duties, interest and penalties on misdeclared spent fowl.
• Customs duties are imposed according to the Customs Act and the Customs Tariff on certain goods when imported into Canada and protect Canada's economy, residents, jobs, environment, etc., by controlling the flow of goods, especially restricted goods such as poultry.