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True nature of food

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Requirements

General

The true nature of the food relates to the essential qualities and characteristics that make the food what it is. Except as otherwise provided in the Food and Drug Regulations (FDR) or in the Safe Food for Canadians Regulations (SFCR), if a prepackaged product is likely to be mistaken for another food, words describing the true nature of the prepackaged product must appear on the principal display panel. These words, which are used to distinguish the food from other foods, may be in regard to:

For example, there is a wide variety of canned tuna on the market. In order for the consumer to avoid getting confused, the label must show information about the product, for example, whether the tuna in the can is in flakes or chunks, and whether it is packed in water, brine or oil.

Note that there could be other instances when this rule may apply, such as when the food differs in its function or intended use (for example, to distinguish between condensed and ready-to-serve soups).

This policy applies to all prepackaged food, which includes both consumer prepackaged food and prepackaged other than consumer prepackaged food.

Exceptions

Style or form of food visible or clearly illustrated

The style or form of the food need not be shown on the label if this is visible to consumers at the point of sale, for example, when peach halves or slices are sold in clear plastic or glass jars. Also, when the style or form is clearly illustrated in an appropriate vignette, for example, when the label shows a picture of peach slices or pineapple rings, it is not necessary to describe the form of the food, although this may still be added by the manufacturer to distinguish different forms of their product. If the product is halves or slices but the picture on the label is of whole fruit (for example, whole peaches with leaves), then the form, "halves" or "sliced" as appropriate, must be declared.

Food with a standard of identity or commodity-specific labelling requirements

When a food has a prescribed common name under a standard of identity, or a commodity-specific labelling requirement about its true nature, these take precedence over the true nature rule. Commodity-specific labelling requirements that relate to the true nature of the food are found in various regulations, including the document Descriptive Words, Expressions and Identification Names for Specific Foods, which is incorporated by reference into the SFCR. These descriptive terms relate to dairy, fish and processed fruit or vegetable products.

Many of the prescribed common names that must be used for standardized foods already include descriptive terms in the common name. In these cases, words describing the food's true nature, such as style or form, may not be shown solely elsewhere on the principal display panel (for example, mushrooms, stems and pieces and mushrooms, pieces and stems, cream style corn [items 25 and 17, Canadian Standards of Identity, Volume 4, Processed fruit or vegetable products]).

In certain other cases, the prescribed common name for a standardized food does not require the condition of the food to be part of that common name. For example, the word "smoked" may only be shown on the principal display panel for (naming the variety) cheese, and not as part of the common name [B.08.033(6), FDR].

Manner of declaring

When required, the words describing the true nature are to be shown anywhere on the principal display panel except for terms that relate to the condition of the food, which must specifically be shown as part of the common name (for example, carbonated water). The information must appear in both official languages, and meet the legibility requirements.

True nature of food

Descriptive words about the true nature of food that distinguish one from another could be in relation to the liquid packaging medium, the form or style of presentation, and the condition of the food or treatment it has undergone.

Type of liquid packaging medium

The type of liquid packaging medium refers to the liquid in which some foods are packed in. For example, canned fruits can be packed in water, fruit juice, light syrup, heavy syrup, and so on. Fish can be packed in brine, in oil, or dry packed. Meat can be cooked and sold in its juices.

Style or form of food

The style or form of the food refers to the way the product is presented within the container, such as the specific way that the food has been cut or is packed in the container. For example, canned tomatoes could be sold as whole, diced or chopped, and fish could be sold as whole, steak, fillet, minced, flaked, chunk or ground.

Some forms of food are described as style of presentation. For example, canned green or wax beans could be presented in a number of ways, such as whole, cut, asparagus-style or French-style. The style or form could also relate to the firmness of the food, for example, tofu can be soft, medium or firm. There may be instances when descriptors about both the style and form may be necessary to describe the true nature of some food (for example, sliced extra firm tofu).

Condition or treatment

The condition of the food relates to those treatments that significantly alter the true nature of the food, including when constituents are added or removed from it. For example, water may be removed when food is dried, condensed, or concentrated, and defatted soy flour can result from removing fat from soybeans. Other treatments can remove certain constituents, such as mineral ions when water is distilled or demineralized. Ingredients or substances can also be added to food, for example, when carbon dioxide is added to water and juices, when water is added to reconstitute juices, or when products are smoked or seasoned.

Note that the requirement for indicating the condition or type of treatment should not be interpreted as requiring a natural or genetically engineered (GE) claim, which are not about the physical condition of the food. Paragraph B.01.006.1(c) of the FDR is therefore explicitly written to explain what is meant to be captured under this requirement.

Definitions

Consumer prepackaged

Consumer prepackaged, in respect of a food, means packaged in a container in the manner in which the food is ordinarily sold to or used or purchased by an individual, or in which the food may reasonably be expected to be obtained by an individual, without being repackaged, to be used for non-commercial purposes [1, SFCR].

Person

Person means an individual or an organization as defined in section 2 of the Criminal Code [2, FDA; 2, SFCA].

A person may therefore be an individual or an organization, and may include a consumer, a manufacturer, a retailer, an importer, a restaurant, any other commercial or industrial enterprise, an institution such as a school or hospital, and anyone else who sells, uses, or buys a food.

Prepackaged

Prepackaged, in respect of a food, means packaged in a container in the manner in which the food is ordinarily sold to or used or purchased by a person, and includes consumer prepackaged [1, SFCR].

Prepackaged product

Prepackaged product means any food that is contained in a package in the manner in which it is ordinarily sold to or used or purchased by a person [B.01.001(1), FDR].

This definition of prepackaged product under the FDR is closely aligned with the definition of prepackaged food under the SFCR.

Principal display panel

As defined in the SFCR, principal display panel means:

  • (a) in the case of a consumer prepackaged food whose container is mounted on a display card, the part of the label that is applied to one of both of the following:
    • (i) all or part of the surface of the display surface
    • (ii) all of part of the surface of the display card that is displayed or visible under customary conditions of sale or use
  • (b) in the case of a consumer prepackaged food whose container is an ornamental container, the part of the label that is applied
    • (i) to all or part of the bottom of the container
    • (ii) to all or part of the principal display surface, or
    • (iii) to all or part of a tag that is attached to the container
  • (c) in the case of a consumer prepackaged food whose container is not described in paragraph (a) or (b), the part of the label that is applied to all or part of the principal display surface
  • (d) in the case of a prepackaged food other than a consumer prepackaged food, the part of the label
    • (i) that is applied or attached to all or part of the surface of the container that is displayed or visible under customary conditions of sale or use, or
    • (ii) if the container does not have such a surface, that is applied to any part of the container except any part that is the bottom of the container; or
  • (e) in the case of a food that is not a prepackaged food, the part of the label that is applied or attached to all or part of the surface of the food that is displayed or visible under customary conditions of sale or use [1, SFCR]

As defined in the FDR, principal display panel means, despite the meaning of principal display panel in section A.01.010,

  • (a) in the case of a label that is applied to a consumer prepackaged food within the meaning of section 1 of the SFCR, the principal display panel as described in paragraphs (a) to (c) of the definition of that term in that section (see SFCR definition for principal display panel above)
  • (b) in the case of a label that is applied to a prepackaged product other than a consumer prepackaged food subject to the SFCR, the part of the label that is applied to all or part of any side or surface of the container that is displayed or visible under normal or customary conditions of sale or use and, if the container does not have such a side or surface, the part of the label that is applied to any part of the container except on the bottom; or
  • (c) in the case of a label that is applied to a food that is not a prepackaged product, the part of the label that is applied to all or part of the side or surface of the food that is displayed or visible under normal or customary conditions of sale or use [B.01.001(1), FDR]
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