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Food labelling has been under scrutiny and debate both in Canada and in the United States. Labelling guidelines in Canada, never harmonized with those of the United States, now appear somewhat more consistent with them. Although significant differences remain, it is anticipated that changes in both Canada and the United States and harmonization efforts between the two countries will continue.
On December 12, 2002, Regulations ("Nutrition Regulations") to amend the regulations enacted under the Food and Drugs Act were formally published.1 The new Regulations address three issues:
- nutrition labelling requirements for prepackaged foods;
- nutrient content claims on food labels; and
- diet-related health claims.
REQUIREMENTS FOR NUTRITION LABELLING
The Nutrition Regulations set out, in a comprehensive fashion, precisely what information will be required on the labels of prepackaged foods and now require all prepackaged product labels to carry a "Nutrition Facts Table". The Nutrition Facts Table must include a declaration of the energy value (calories) of the food, as well as the amount of the following other elements: fat, saturated fat, trans fat, sum of saturated fat and trans fat, cholesterol, sodium, carbohydrates, fibre, sugar, protein, vitamins A and C, calcium and iron.2 Certain other specified nutrients may also be included in the Nutrition Facts Table, but are not required.3 The Nutrition Facts Table must also specify the serving size of the product.
If a nutrient is not required to be listed in the Nutrition Facts Table, or does not appear on the possible inclusions list, it may not be placed on the Nutrition Facts Table, but may appear elsewhere on the label.
The format and type-size requirements of the Table are now standardized and are set out in the Regulations, as are the units of measurement to be used.4 The size requirements are reasonable and, in general, the Regulations do not require that more than 15% of the available display surface be used for the Nutrition Facts Table. Finally, the Nutrition Facts Table must be in solid black print on a white background, and must be in both English and French.
Certain food products are entirely exempt from the nutrition labelling requirements.5 For example, beverages with more than 0.5% alcohol need not comply with the nutrition labelling requirements. As expected, fresh fruit and vegetables are also exempt from the requirements, as are single ingredient packages of fish, meat or poultry. The exemptions also include "one-bite confections", food that is solely intended to be served by a restaurant, food sold at roadside stands and food with packages that have very small display surfaces. Infant formula and liquid diets are also outside the scope of the Regulations but are governed by other existing regulations.
Although one of the goals of the Nutrition Regulations is to streamline the practices of Canadian manufacturers to accord with the labelling requirements in the United States, complete uniformity has not yet been achieved. A significant distinction between Canadian and United States labelling requirements, the requirement to list trans fat on food labels, has now been addressed by the Food and Drug Administration in the United States. As of January 2006, trans fat must also be listed on U.S. food labels.
NUTRIENT CONTENT CLAIMS[6]
The Nutrition Regulations will also govern nutrient content claims in respect of all foods, not only prepackaged foods. The new Regulations will add structure and definition to claims that were previously subject to wide differentiations in meaning. Modifiers, such as "very" or "ultra", are no longer permitted.[7] There are additional restrictions on the use of the term "light"[8] and the word "free" cannot appear on a product label unless it refers to truly insignificant or trivial amounts of the substance to which reference is made. There are additional requirements for baby food set out in the Nutrition Regulations.
The Nutrition Regulations will, however, allow certain terms that were previously prohibited to be incorporated on the labels of products. For example, food product labels may now include the terms "calorie-reduced", "free of sugars" or "low in sodium or salt" provided the claim is true. Such terms were previously restricted to dietary use products.[9]
DIET-RELATED HEALTH CLAIMS
The Nutrition Regulations permit diet-related health claims to be placed on food labels for the first time in Canada. For example, a product that is high in potassium and low in sodium may carry a claim that the product may reduce the risk of high blood pressure. However, such health claims are limited to specific ingredients and designated illnesses:[11]
| Ingredient | Illness |
| Soium and Potassium | Hypertension (High blood pressure) |
| Calcium and Vitamin D | Osteoporosis |
| Saturated Fat and Trans Fat | Heart Disease |
| Specified Vegetales and Fruit | Certain forms of Cancer |
Notwithstanding certain diet-related health claims are now acceptable, there are restrictions with respect to the form that the health claim may take on the product label. Companies wishing to make such claims must carefully review the new Regulations.
VOLUNTARY REVIEW PROCESS AND GUIDANCE DOCUMENTS
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (the "CFIA") has, for some years, offered to review food labels and to provide information as to whether those labels meet the labelling requirements. Although the CFIA will make this service available with respect to the Nutrition Regulations, the program will not be available until early 2004. At present, the CFIA will continue to review labels to ensure that they comply with the previous regulatory requirements. The CFIA is also updating its Guide to Food Labelling and Advertising in order to provide manufacturers with information and assistance on the new regulatory requirements.
HOW MUCH TIME DOES THE INDUSTRY HAVE TO COMPLY?
A three-year transitional period has been provided in the Nutrition Regulations in order to allow manufacturers time to revise food labels. This transitional period is, however, extended to five years for manufacturers with gross revenues from Canadian food sales of less than $1,000,000 in the twelve-month period before December 12, 2002, when the new Regulations came into force.
It is important to note that prepackaged foods will lose their three- or five-year transitional exemption if current labels contain statements about the nutrient content of the food (e.g., "fat-free"), contain other health-related claims (e.g., "part of a healthy diet"), or contain the expression "nutrition facts".12
- Regulations Amending the Food and Drug Regulations (Nutrition Labelling, Nutrient Content Claims and Health Claims), SOR/2003-11, December 12, 2002, Canada Gazette Part II, Vol. 137, No. 1, pages 154-364, http://canadagazette.gc.ca/partII/2003/
20030101/pdf/g2-13701.pdf ("Nutrition Regulations"). - Table, B.01.401(1) of the Nutrition Regulations.
- Table, B.01.402 of the Nutrition Regulations.
- B.01.450-B.01.460 of the Nutrition Regulations.
- For a list of all of the exempted products, please see B.01.401 of the Nutrition Regulations.
- B.01.500-B.01.513 of the Nutrition Regulations.
- B.01.511(2) of the Nutrition Regulations.
- B.01.513(1) of the Nutrition Regulations.
- Table, B.01.503(1) of the Nutrition Regulations.
- B.01.600-B.01.603 of the Nutrition Regulations.
- B.01.600 of the Nutrition Regulations.
- Nutrition Regulations, s.38(2).
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