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Guidelines for the acceptable use of "100% Canadian milk" claims on dairy products

The purpose of this document is to help food manufacturers to determine if their voluntary use of a "100% Canadian milk" claim (or similar) on dairy products:

This guideline document sets out criteria for the acceptable use of "100% Canadian milk" claims and acceptable alternatives on dairy products. It is the responsibility of all food manufacturers to ensure that their products are labelled and advertised in a manner that does not create a false and misleading impression of the product [199(1)(b), SFCR; 6(1), SFCA; 5(1), FDA].

Background

In October 2010, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) did public opinion research to determine consumers' perceptions of the claim "100% Canadian milk" when used on dairy products.

The research findings include the following:

The results of this research were used, along with stakeholder consultation, to establish criteria for acceptable use of the claim "100% Canadian milk" on dairy products.

Scope

This guideline applies only to the use of a "100% Canadian milk" claim or acceptable alternatives, with or without logos, vignettes etc., when used on dairy products.

Definition of "dairy product" from the Safe Food for Canadians Regulations [1, SFCR]:

"means milk or a food that is derived from milk, alone or combined with another food, and that contains no oil and no fat other than that of milk."

Regulatory authority

The following pieces of legislation apply to a "100% Canadian milk" claim. The list is not exhaustive and, depending on the situation, there could be other applicable provisions or legislation.

The Food and Drugs Act, subsection 5(1), states that:

"No person shall label, package, treat, process, sell or advertise any food in a manner that is false, misleading, deceptive or is likely to create an erroneous impression regarding its character, value, quantity, composition, merit, or safety."

The Safe Food for Canadians Act, subsection 6(1), states that:

"It is prohibited for a person to manufacture, prepare, package, label, sell, import or advertise a food commodity in a manner that is false, misleading or deceptive or is likely to create an erroneous impression regarding its character, quality, value, quantity, composition, merit, safety or origin or the method of its manufacture or preparation."

Criteria for making an acceptable "100% Canadian milk" claim

The following criteria set out the conditions to make an acceptable "100% Canadian milk" claim on a dairy product.

The criteria

  1. All of the dairy ingredients in the product are derived from Canadian sources.
  2. At least 1 of the following ingredients is present in the product in liquid, concentrated, dry, frozen or reconstituted form:
    • (whole) milk
    • partly (partially) skimmed milk
    • skim milk
    • cream
    • condensed milk
    • buttermilk
  3. The ingredients listed above are to be listed separately in the ingredient list.
    • Under the Food and Drug Regulations section B.01.010(3)(b), these ingredients fall under the collective common name "milk ingredients" in item 7 of Table 2 of the Common Names for Ingredients and Components document
      • "milk ingredients: any of the following in liquid, concentrated, dry, frozen or reconstituted form, namely, butter, buttermilk, butter oil, milk fat, cream, milk, partly skimmed milk, skim milk and any other component of milk the chemical composition of which has not been altered and that exists in the food in the same chemical state in which it is found in milk."
    • As per B.01.010(3)(b),
      • since 1 or more of these ingredients will be listed separately, the common name "milk ingredients" cannot be used, and
      • all ingredients that fall under that common name must be listed separately.
    • If the product also contains 1 or more ingredients listed under the common name "modified milk ingredients" in item 7.1 of Table 2 of the Common Names for Ingredients and Components document, these ingredients can be collectively referred to as "modified milk ingredients".
      • "modified milk ingredients: any of the following in liquid, concentrated, dry, frozen or reconstituted form, namely, calcium-reduced skim milk (obtained by the ion-exchange process), casein, caseinates, cultured milk products, milk serum proteins, ultrafiltered milk, whey, whey butter, whey cream and any other component of milk the chemical state of which has been altered from that in which it is found in milk."

Alternate acceptable claims

The CFIA's public opinion research also indicated 2 other claims that respondents found appropriate to describe a dairy product made with Canadian milk and/or dairy ingredients made from Canadian milk.

Therefore, food manufacturers may also use the following claims on dairy products:

If the "Made with 100% Canadian milk" claim is used, all 3 criteria listed above also apply.

If the "100% Canadian dairy" claim is used, only criterion 1 listed above needs to be met.

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