On December 14, 2016, the Health Canada released an amendment to the rules for food colouring, ingredient lists, and nutrition labelling of the Food and Drug Regulations (regulations)
These new requirements are aimed at making labelling information on prepackaged food products more useful and easier to understand, while also helping to achieve efficiencies by erasing the requirement for lot certification of food colours.
A five-year transition period was allowed, which concluded on December 14, 2021, giving the industry considerable time to make the necessary modifications to their labels while also utilizing any existing inventories of labels already printed to meet current regulations. Given the obstacles created by COVID-19, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) will focus its efforts for the first year, until December 14, 2022, on education and compliance promotion.
For this transition time, Health Canada and the CFIA had created a 3 phased implementation strategy which is as follows:
• Phase I (December 14, 2016 – May 10, 2018), began with the publishing of these revisions in Canada Gazette Part II.
• Phase 2 (May 11, 2018 – December 14, 2021)
• Phase 3 started in mid-May 2018 when the duty of responding to inquiries about the new standards was transferred from Health Canada to the CFIA, and this continued until the transition period is completed (December 14, 2021). The CFIA’s activities will be focused on education and promoting compliance with the new regulations.
• The interim period concludes with Phase III (December 15, 2021 – December 14, 2022). The old regulations will be disposed of on December 15, 2021. CFIA will continue to focus on educating and promoting compliance with the new rules throughout this period.
Compliance and Enforcement after December 14, 2022
After December 14, 2022, CFIA inspection operations will monitor compliance with the new labelling standards for prepackaged items imported, manufactured in Canada, or packaged at retail. The CFIA will, however, use enforcement discretion in circumstances where regulated parties have a documented plan outlining how they aim to satisfy the new criteria as soon as feasible, but no later than December 14, 2023.
The following are the primary modifications that must be accomplished by December 14, 2022:
1. The nutrition information table has been updated:
• Serving sizes will be more consistent
• Making serving size and calorie information easier to discover and understand
• Updating the % daily numbers based on new scientific findings
• Adding a new % daily value for total sugars and updating the nutrient list
• Applying the potassium, calcium, and iron values in milligrammes (mg).
• Including a footnote at the bottom of the chart explaining the percentage daily value
2. Changes to information on sweeteners
Sweeteners are no longer required to be stated on the front of the package. The amount of sweetener in mg per serving will no longer be listed in the ingredients.
3. The changes to the list of ingredients
• Putting sugar-based substances in brackets following the word ‘Sugars,’ which will assist customers in identifying all of the sources of sugars added to a meal.
• Naming food colours by their separate common names.
• Creating minimum type height requirements for ingredients
• Allowing for the use of bullets or commas to separate ingredients
• Using both upper and lower case letters for the ingredients in the list.
The same format rules will apply to any ‘contains’ statement indicating the presence or potential presence of – Priority food allergens, gluten sources and Added Sulphites
These modifications will make it simpler to identify, read, and comprehend the ingredient list.
4. Front-of-package nutrition labelling
• Assist you in making quick and educated grocery shopping decisions
• Help health professionals to educate the public about diets heavy in salt, sugar, and saturated fat.
• The front-of-package nutrition symbol is black and white.
• It has a magnifying glass and highlights what the food is high in: sodium, sugars, saturated fat or any combination of these.
• The words “Health Canada / Santé Canada” appear at the bottom of the symbol
These Food label amendments were introduced in response to consumer and stakeholder response.
Food Cognizant is a Navi Mumbai-based solution provider for Food Business Owners with Regulatory, Safety, and Quality challenges. We assist you in delivering safe and legal food to the globe by establishing solid roots for your food company. We see ourselves as the flagbearer of safe food, and we assist companies to develop confidence among their end consumers by guaranteeing that the goods and services delivered meet national and international standards.
For further information or assistance, please contact Ms. Shabina NT, Founder of Food Cognizant, at mail@foodcognizant.com.
