Today, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) announced new measures to protect Canadians from the risk of Salmonella infection associated with pistachios from Iran.
Since September 27, 2025, Canada has temporarily banned the import of pistachios and pistachio-containing products from Iran as a precautionary measure to prevent the possibility of new contaminated products from entering the Canadian marketplace. For products already in the Canadian marketplace prior to this ban, the CFIA conducted targeted testing and inspection and continues to communicate recalls and verify that any unsafe products are removed from store shelves.
In addition to these actions, the CFIA has now made it mandatory for all federally licenced importers and manufacturers that have Iranian pistachios that were imported prior to September 27, to hold and test them for Salmonella before they can be sold in Canada. This includes any products that were made with pistachios from Iran that are not already recalled. This will help protect Canadians from illness and provide consumers with greater reassurance that what they are buying is safe.
These measures are part of the conditions that must be met for businesses with a Safe Food for Canadians licence and will remain in place while the CFIA analyzes information from the ongoing food safety investigation.
The Public Health Agency of Canada continues to lead the ongoing outbreak investigation, with 155 laboratory-confirmed Salmonella infections in Canada, and numerous food recall notifications linked to Iranian pistachios.
The CFIA will continue to conduct inspection activities to verify compliance. If all federal requirements are not met, importers and manufacturers could face enforcement actions, such as administrative monetary penalties, licence suspension or cancellation, or prosecution.
