Language selection

Search

Carbohydrate claims on foods sold in Canada

Background

Due to the recent interest in a number of reduced carbohydrate diets, a variety of carbohydrate claims and statements are appearing on foods sold in Canada.

The information contained in this letter refers to claims and statements made on food labels and in any type of advertising material, including broadcast, print, point-of-sale, and the internet.

On January 1, 2003, amendments to the Food and Drug Regulations (FDR) were published making nutrition labelling mandatory on most prepackaged foods as of December 12, 2007 and setting out the requirements for nutrient content claims and diet related health claims.

Note that the labelling provisions under the Food and Drugs Act (FDA) and FDR, including those for nutrition labelling and nutrient content claims, apply to all foods sold in Canada. This includes food, beverages, and alcoholic beverages, such as beer.

Compliance with the regulations

The regulations have restricted the list of nutrient content claims that may be made on foods. Permitted claims can be found in the Table of Permitted Nutrient Content Statements and Claims (the Table), incorporated by reference into the FDR. Carbohydrate claims, including "low carbohydrate", "reduced carbohydrates", "source of carbohydrates" are not included in the list under the regulations and are therefore not permitted. A limited number of claims may be made for the presence or absence of sugars and for the level of fibre contained in a food. These can be found under sections E. Sugars Related Statements and Claims and F. Fibre Related Statements and Claims of the Table. Section B.01.502 of the FDR further prohibits other expressed or implied representations about the amount of a nutrient in a food, unless specifically provided for. This means that other statements about the presence or absence of carbohydrates, including the use of brand names and trademarks, are subject to these regulations.

Also note that section B.01.301 of the FDR does permit quantitative statements about the amount of a nutrient in a food under specified conditions. For carbohydrates, this may be expressed as the number of grams per serving of stated size. No word sets can be used around this type of statement. An acceptable example would be:

"8 g of carbohydrate per 30 g serving"

Further information on the requirements for nutrient content claims under the regulations can be found in Nutrient content claims.

Use of the term "carbohydrate"

Compliance with Canadian regulations

The CFIA reminds all food manufacturers of their responsibility to comply with existing Canadian regulations. For more information, refer to the Industry Labelling Tool.

Requests for amendments to the regulations

While the CFIA is responsible for enforcing the nutrition labelling regulations, Health Canada is responsible for setting nutrition related policy and regulations. Submissions for requests for regulatory amendments should be addressed to:

Bureau of Nutritional Sciences
Food Directorate
251 Sir Frederick Banting Driveway
Postal Locator 2203E
Tunney's Pasture
Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0K9
E-mail: bns-bsn@hc-sc.gc.ca
Telephone: 613-948-8476
Facsimile: 613-948-8470

The submission should include the suggested claim along with compositional and labelling criteria, as well as an appropriate scientific rationale taking into consideration the latest recommendations of The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine.

Originally issued August 31, 2004 (Information letter to industry)

Date modified: