On this page
- Introduction
- Incorporation by reference of food compositional standards into the Food and Drug Regulations
- Consequential amendments to documents incorporated by reference into the Food and Drug Regulations and the Safe Food for Canadians Regulations
- Repeal of certain alcoholic beverages as distinctive products from the Food and Drug Regulations
- Transition period
- Reference tools
Introduction
On December 18, 2024, the Government of Canada published the Regulations Amending Certain Regulations Concerning Food Additives and Compositional Standards, Microbiological Criteria and Methods of Analysis for Food in the Canada Gazette, Part II. These regulatory amendments made changes to the Food and Drug Regulations (FDR) to provide a more responsive and adaptable regulatory framework for food compositional standards that supports growth and innovation.
The following is a summary of changes from the regulatory amendments.
Incorporation by reference of food compositional standards into the Food and Drug Regulations
The food compositional standards set out the standards of composition, strength, potency, purity, quality or other property of certain foods that are imported or sold interprovincially (between provinces and territories). The regulatory amendments moved these requirements from Part B of the FDR to a new document titled Canadian Food Compositional Standards, also referred to by the defined term Food Compositional Standards document (FCSD). This document is prepared by the CFIA and incorporated by reference into the FDR.
In some cases, the standards also included health and safety rules that apply to foods sold at all levels of trade. These are excluded from the FCSD. An overview of the amendments related to these requirements is available on Health Canada's website.
- Fortification rules remain in Parts B and D of the FDR
- Adulteration provisions remain in Part B of the FDR
- Microbiological safety rules remain in Part B of the FDR
- Commodity-specific labelling rules remain in Part B of the FDR
- Food additive rules remain in Division 16 of Part B of the FDR and in the Lists of Permitted Food Additives
- Microbiological criteria and microbiological methods of analysis are either added to the new Division 30 of Part B of the FDR or managed through the Table of Microbiological Criteria for Food
Consequential amendments to documents incorporated by reference into the Food and Drug Regulations and the Safe Food for Canadians Regulations
The regulatory changes made consequential amendments to the Common Names for Ingredients and Components document that is incorporated by reference into the FDR and the Canadian Standards of Identity document that is incorporated by reference into the Safe Food for Canadians Regulations (SFCR).
Common Names for Ingredients and Components
- Change references to a section of the FDR to refer to a section of the FCSD
- Change the wording in item 17 and 18 of Table 2 to clarify that the food ingredient or component refers to specific types of sweetening agents rather than sweeteners, since sweetener is a term reserved for food additives used to impart a sweet taste to food
Canadian Standards of Identity: Volume 1 – Dairy Products
- Change references to a section of the FDR to refer to a section of the FCSD
- Change the term "colouring agent" to "food colour" and "colorant" to "colorant alimentaire" to align with the terms used in the FDR and the List of Permitted Food Colours
- In the French document, replace the term "indication" with the term "nom" to make it consistent with the standardized common names used in the English version of the FCSD and the Lists of Permitted Food Additives. For example, change "fromage (indication de la variété)" to "fromage (nom de la variété)"
Canadian Standards of Identity: Volume 2 – Processed Egg Products
- Change references to a section of the FDR to refer to a section of the FCSD
Canadian Standards of Identity: Volume 3 – Fish
- Remove regulatory overlap with permissions reflected in the List of Permitted Food Colours
Canadian Standards of Identity: Volume 4 – Processed Fruit or Vegetable Products
- Change references to a section of the FDR to refer to a section of the FCSD
- Change the term "colouring agent" to "food colour" and "colorant" to "colorant alimentaire" to align with the terms used in the FDR and the List of Permitted Food Colours
- Update the definition for "thickener" so as to refer to the List of Permitted Emulsifying, Gelling, Stabilizing or Thickening Agents
- Align the standardized common names for a number of processed fruits and vegetables with those in the FCSD and the Lists of Permitted Food Additives. For example, the common name "(naming the vegetable)" was changed to "(naming the vegetable or vegetables)"
- Remove food additive rules in situations where the CFIA identified regulatory overlap with permissions reflected in the Lists of Permitted Food Additives
Canadian Standards of Identity: Volume 5 – Honey
- Change references to a section of the FDR to refer to a section of the FCSD
Canadian Standards of Identity: Volume 7 – Meat Products
- Change references to a section of the FDR to refer to a section of the FCSD
- Change the definitions for "gelling agent" and "agent de remplissage" to refer to the List of Permitted Emulsifying, Gelling, Stabilizing or Thickening Agents
Repeal of certain alcoholic beverages as distinctive products from the Food and Drug Regulations
Under the regulatory amendments, Scotch whisky, Irish whisky, Bourbon whisky, Tennessee whisky, Armagnac brandy, Cognac brandy, Tequila and Mezcal were repealed from the FDR and were not copied over to the FCSD.
These standardized alcoholic beverages serve as distinctive products in that they prohibit the use of these names unless the product is manufactured in accordance with the laws of the country of origin. These provisions in the FDR were repealed because they are either redundant and/or in conflict with those in the Spirit Drinks Trade Act that is administered by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada.
Transition period
The Regulations came into force on the day on which they were published in the Canada Gazette, Part II. No transition period was provided for food compositional standards since there is no change to the regulatory requirements. In addition, there is no change to the level of inspection, what is inspected, how food labels are inspected or the enforcement approach.
Reference tools
As a result of these regulatory amendments, many references to the food compositional standards in the FDR have changed. To help stakeholders navigate the new regulatory framework for standards, the CFIA updated the Industry Labelling Tool and provided a search tool for the new regulatory references for standards. The agency will also update the Automated Import Reference System (AIRS) in the coming weeks.