Canadian Food Regulations

3 Categories of Regulations

Food
 any article manufactured, sold or represented for use as food or drink for human beings,
chewing gum, and any ingredient that may be mixed with food for any purpose whatever [2,
FDA; 1, SFCR]

Drug
a drug that is listed in Schedule C to the Act that is in dosage form or a drug that is an active
ingredient of biological origin that can be used in the preparation of a drug listed in that
Schedule. Used in the treatment or prevention of any disease, disorder or abnormal physical
state mentioned in Schedule A

Natural Health Product (NHP)

 Dosage Form: Homeopathic medicine or a traditional medicine, that is manufactured, sold
or represented for use in
 (a) the diagnosis, treatment, mitigation or prevention of a disease, disorder or abnormal
physical state or its symptoms in humans;
 (b) restoring or correcting organic functions in humans; or
 2 Enforcers

Health Canada (the boss)

Health Canada is responsible, under the Food and Drugs Act
(FDA), for the establishment of policies and standards
relating to the health, safety, and nutritional quality of food
sold in Canada.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA, the

enforcers)
The CFIA is responsible for the enforcement of all the
following Regulations.
This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-NC
Main Labelling Regulatory Documents

• The Food and Drugs Act and Regulations

• The Guide to Food Labelling and Advertising
• Consumer Packaging and Labelling Act and Regulations
• Weights and Measures Act and Regulations
• Meat Inspection Act and Regulations
• Fish Inspection Act and Regulations
• Processed Products Act and Regulations
• Provincial regulations e.g. Dairy
 Food and Drug Act 5.1
5 (1) No person shall label, package, treat, process, sell or advertise any food
in a manner that is false, misleading or deceptive or is likely to create an
erroneous impression regarding its character, value, quantity, composition,
merit or safety.

(2) An article of food that is not labelled or packaged as required by, or is

labelled or packaged contrary to, the regulations shall be deemed to be
labelled or packaged contrary to subsection (1).

 The golden rule

 Thou shall not be mislead or do harm

 Enforceable in a court of law
The Safe Foods for Canadians Act and
Regulations
 Came into effect in 2018

 Consolidated 14 sets of existing regulations including:

• Fish Inspection Act
• Meat Inspection Act
• Organic Regulations
• Consumer Packaging and Labelling Act
• Processed Products Regulations

 Puts a greater emphasis on preventing food safety risks for all foods
imported into Canada or sold across province
Did you know?

 Food advertising must follow the same regulations

 Websites too

 Industry self regulates TV / Radio through Advertising Standards This Photo by Unknown Author is
licensed under CC BY-NC

Canada
Basic Labelling
Requirements
 Almost all prepackaged foods must carry a label

 Includes foodservice items

 Bulk containers

 All labels must be in English and French of

equal prominence
Mandatory
Nutrition Facts Table (NFT)

 13 core nutrients

 Other nutrients optional – mandatory if claim made or nutrient added

 Size depends on 15% rule for display surface

 Only a Canadian NFT may be shown

 Not allowed on meal replacement, nutritional supplements, infant formula

Why should chefs know what is on a food
label?
 Food allergies
 A customer may ask
 e.g. “is this gluten free?”
 e.g. “how much salt is in this dish?”

 You may work in a health care facility

 e.g. how much sugar in a product for a person with diabetes

 You need to know this to put together your menu

 You may be creating a new product
 You may be writing a recipe book

This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA-NC

NFT New
Regulations

Why the
Change?
Nutrition Facts are based on a specific
amount of food
The specific amount is:
 Servings listed under the Nutrition Facts title
• Listed in common measures you use at home and a metric unit
• Understand how much of a nutrient you are eating
• Compare calories and nutrients between 2 similar packaged food
products
• Compare this to the amount you eat
• Servings are based on regulated Reference Amounts
How much
do you
eat?
How much
do you
eat?
How much do you eat?
How much do you eat?
Percent Daily Values

 Shows you if a serving size has a little or a lot of a nutrient

 5% DV or less is a little
 15% DV or more is a lot

 Used to compare 2 or more food products

 Not meant to keep track of your total nutrient intake – produce, meat, fish,
seafood exempt from NFT
Ritz Original Whole wheat
Crackers Premium Plus

You want to increase your fibre intake.

Which cracker should you choose?
Percent Daily Values
Calculated based on reference values
 recommended daily intake (RDI) for vitamins and minerals
 reference standards for:
 fat
 saturated and trans fats
 cholesterol
 carbohydrate
 fibre
 sodium

The % DV for a nutrient is calculated by:

 dividing the amount of a nutrient in a serving size by its daily value, then
 multiplying that number by 100
 For example, a food product has 3 mg of iron. The daily value for iron is 18 mg. This means that
the % DV for iron would be 17%: (3 mg ÷ 18 mg) × 100 = 17% DV
 If you would like to do your own calculation, use the equation above to help you.
Reference
amounts for
macronutrients
Reference Daily
Values for Vitamins
and Minerals
Mandatory Labelling Requirements

Common Name

With a standard (e.g. mayonnaise, milk chocolate)

Name that it is commonly known by (e.g. chocolate

cake)

It must be shown on the main panel (principal

display panel/ PDP)
Mandatory Labelling Requirements

Net Quantity
 Minimum 1.6 mm but increases with label size

 Metric always required with imperial optional

 Must appear on the main panel

 Examples: 150 g / 150 g 5.3 oz / 150 mL / 150 mL 5.3 fl oz

Mandatory Labelling
Requirements
Ingredient Statement

 Applies to multi-ingredient food

 Single ingredient foods exempt (e.g. honey)

 Ingredients must be declared by their common names.

 New formatting requirements

 Sugars must be grouped together by weight
 Colours must be declared by name
Priority Allergens

Mandatory with “Contains” or within ingredients

 Tree nuts (almonds, Brazil nuts, cashews, hazelnut, macadamia, pecan, pine, pistachio, walnut)
 Peanuts
 Sesame
 Wheat
 Eggs
 Milk
 Soy
 Fish, crustaceans, shellfish
 Mustard
 Gluten sources (barley, oats, triticale, wheat, spelt, kamut)
 Sulphites

 Declared within the ingredient box

 Declared within the ingredient box

Precautionary
Statements
May Contain

 Voluntary

 Not a substitution for good

manufacturing practices (GMP)
 Know as the Domicile
Mandatory
Labelling Manufacturer or importer / distributor
Requirements
Should be complete enough for mail delivery
Company Name
and Address Must say “imported by” or list the country of
origin if a Canadian address is shown
Best Before Date

 Only mandatory on foods with a JA for January

durable life of 90 days or less FE for February
MR for March
AL for April
 However, very good consumer MA for May
information JN for June

JL for July
 It must follow the bilingual AU for August
regulated format SE for September
OC for October
NO for November
Best before
DE for December
12 JN 28
Meilleur avant

This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY

 OPTIONAL
Claims

IF YOU WANT TO MAKE A CLAIM THERE

IS A RULE FOR THAT!
 Nutrient Content Claims

 Health Claims

 Biological Role Claims

 Healthy, Nutritious, Wholesome, Good for you

 Composition, Quality, Origin claims

Claims Nutrient Function (Biological Role Claims)

Nutrient Content Claims

 Permitted for all macro and  Specific for the nutrient and not the food.
micronutrients (limited for carb)  For macro and micro nutrients.
 Criteria differs
 Science based.
 Good source of potassium  Minimum a “source” or 5% DV
 Min 470 mg per serving Vitamin E
 a dietary antioxidant
 Source of calcium  a dietary antioxidant that protects the fat
 ≥5% of Daily value in body tissues from oxidation
“Avocado is a good source of vitamin E, a dietary
 High source of fibre antioxidant that protects the fat in the body tissues
from oxidation.”
 Min 4 g serv / ref amt (cannot say
good)
Health / Disease Reduction Claims
Highlights the relationship between diet and certain diseases
1. Sodium potassium and heart disease
2. Calcium, Vitamin D and osteoporosis
3. Saturated and trans fat and heart disease
4. Fruits and vegetables and certain cancers
5. Fruits and vegetables and heart disease
6. Sugar free foods and dental caries
Plus more
https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/food-nutrition/food-labelling/health-clai
ms/assessments.html

“A healthy diet low in saturated and trans fats may reduce the risk of heart disease.
Morning Glory Margarine is low in saturated fat and is trans fat free."
Healthy, Nutritious,
Wholesome, Good for you

Healthy
 May only be made in context of a recommend pattern
of eating such as Canada’s Food Guide

Nutritious, Wholesome, Good for you

 Must be a source of at least one nutrient (must be used
cautiously)

This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA-NC

Composition / Origin Claims
Natural
 Must be minimally processed as not to affect the natural composition (grinding)

Organic
 Very strict regulations.
 Must be certified
 Must be at least 95% organic ingredients

Made in Canada / Product of Canada

 Must be mostly made with Canadian sourced ingredients (98%)
 Fortification Regulations

 Framework for fortification of foods, including which foods are required or

permitted to be fortified.
 Mandatory: E.g. White flour
https://inspection.canada.ca/food-labels/labelling/industry/grain-and-ba
kery-products/unenriched-flour/eng/1415915977878/1415915979471

 Optional: E.g. 1. Breakfast cereals Voluntary: Thiamine, niacin,

vitamin B6, folic acid, pantothenic acid, magnesium, iron, zinc
B.13.060

 Very old regulations This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND

https://inspection.canada.ca/food-labels/labelling/industry/nutrient-content/ref
erence-information/eng/1389908857542/1389908896254?chap=1
Supplemented Foods –New
regulations as of August 2022

 Different from fortification regulations

 Supplemented foods are prepackaged foods with 1 or more
supplemental ingredients.
 vitamins
 minerals
 amino acids
 Caffeine
 Supplemented foods include:
 beverages with added vitamins and minerals
 caffeinated energy drinks
 granola bars with added vitamins
Front of Pack Labelling
 Required when over a threshold
 Saturated fat
 Sugar
 Sodium
 https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/publications/food-nutrition/infographic-front
-of-package-nutrition-labelling.html
Industry Food Labelling Tool

 https://inspection.canada.ca/food-labels/labelling/industry/eng/1383607266489/13
83607344939
Digestion

1. Ingestion
2. Movement
3. Mechanical and Chemical
Digestion
4. Absorption
5. Elimination
This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY
Breaking Down Food

Mechanical (physical)
 Chew
 Tear
 Grind
 Mash
 Mix
 Chemical
 Enzymatic reactions to improve digestion of
 Carbohydrates
 Proteins
 Lipids
Gastrointestinal Tract (GI
Tract)
Connected Organs That Process Food
Mouth
Esophagus
Stomach
Small Intestine
Anus

Biliary System: Process digestive enzymes

Liver
Pancreas
Gallbladder (storage organ only)
 Mouth
 Teeth mechanically  Epiglottis is a flap-like
break down food into structure at the back of
small pieces. Tongue the throat that closes
mixes food with saliva over the trachea
(contains amylase, preventing food from
which helps break down entering it. It is located
starch). in the Pharynx.
Stomach

 J-shaped muscular bag that stores

the food you eat, breaks it down
into tiny pieces.
 Mixes food with Digestive Juices
that contain enzymes to break
down food.
 Acid (HCl) in the stomach Kills
Bacteria
 Esophagus
 Approximately 20 cm long.
 Functions include:

1. Secrete mucus
2. Moves food from the throat to
the stomach using muscle
movement called peristalsis
 If acid from the stomach gets in
here that’s heartburn.
Mouth, Pharynx and Esophagus
Video
Small Intestine

 Largest part of the digestive tract –

22 FT
 3 parts - duodenum, jejunum, and
ileum
 Has finger-like projections called
villi, to increase surface area
 Mainly responsible for the
adsorption of nutrients into the
blood

This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY

Large Intestine - Colon

 About 6 FT
 Processes waste – about 36 hours
 Accepts what small intestines don’t absorb
 Healthy bacteria ferment undigested carbohydrate
(soluble fibre)
 Rectum (short term storage which holds feces before
it is expelled).
Enzyme Producing Organs

 Liver: Many functions, but processes nutrients absorbed by small intestine

 Makes bile
 Chemical factory (makes chemicals from raw materials)
 Filters out toxins (drugs, alcohol, poisons)
 Pancreas: Makes digestive enzymes
 Regulates blood sugars by producing insulin
 Gallbladder: Stores bile from the liver. Released into small intestine