Glossary

A

Age

means the period during which an alcoholic beverage is kept under such conditions of storage as may be necessary to develop its characteristic flavour and bouquet [B.02.002]

Alcohol

means ethyl alcohol [B.02.002]

Available Display Surface

means
a) the bottom of an ornamental container or the total surface area of both sides of a tag attached to the ornamental container, whichever is greater
b) the total surface area of both sides of a tag attached to a package to which a label cannot be physically applied or on which information cannot be legibly set out and easily viewed by the purchaser or consumer under the customary conditions of purchase, and
c) total surface area of any other package, excluding the bottom if the contents of the package leak out or are damaged when the package is turned over

but does not include
d) any area of a package on which a label cannot be physically applied or on which information cannot be legibly set out and easily viewed by the purchaser or consumer under the customary conditions of purchase,
e) any part of a package that is intended to be destroyed when it is opened, other than a package of a food that is intended to be consumed by one person at a single eating occasion, or
f) the area occupied by the universal product code. [B.01.001]

Advertise

means to advertise to the general public [D.01.001]

Advertisement

includes any representation by any means whatever for the purpose of promoting directly or indirectly the sale or disposal of any food, drug, cosmetic or device [2, FDA]

Animal

means any animal used as food, but does not include marine and fresh water animals [B.14.001]

B

Biological Role Claims

statements or claims are allowed for energy or nutrients that are generally recognized as an aid in maintaining the functions of the body

Body Mass Index

measurement tool that relates body weight to health

 C

Canada's Food Guide to Healthy Eating (CFGHE)

describes a pattern of eating based on a total diet approach and provides consumers with detailed information on establishing healthy eating habits through the daily selection of food

Canada Agricultural Products Act

is a trade and commerce act with regulations pertaining to the following commodities: dairy, eggs and processed eggs, fresh and processed fruit and vegetables, honey, livestock and poultry carcasses, and maple products

Canada's Food Guide to Healthy Eating (CFGHE)

describes a pattern of eating based on a total diet approach and provides consumers with detailed information on establishing healthy eating habits through the daily selection of food

Canada' s Guidelines for Healthy Eating

are the consumer messages for Canadians that were translated into the specific food choices promoted in Canada' s Food Guide to Healthy Eating

CAPA

acronym for Canada Agricultural Products Act

Carbohydrate

includes sugars, starch, dietary fibre, sugar alcohols, and polydextrose

Carbonated Water

water that contains added CO₂

Chopped, chopped and formed meat products

This category includes products, such as ground roast beef, ground ham and chicken breast (chopped and formed), that do not contain at least 80% of pieces of boneless, skinless meat weighing a minimum of 25 g.

Close Proximity

means, with reference to the common name, immediately adjacent to the common name without any intervening printed, written or graphic matter [B.01.001]

Common Name

means
a) the name of the food printed in bold face type in the Food and Drug Regulations
b) the name prescribed by any other regulation, or
c) if the name of the food is not so printed or prescribed, the name by which the food is generally known [B.01.001]

Component

means an individual unit of food that is combined as an individual unit of food with one or more other individual units of food to form an ingredient
[B.01.001]

Concentrate
Concentrated
Condensed

may be used to describe products still in the liquid state after a substantial amount of water has been removed

Combination Foods

means the category of foods that contain, as ingredients, foods from more than one food group, or foods from one or more food groups mixed with foods from the category of "other foods" , such as pizza or lasagna [B.01.500]

Comparative Claim

is a statement that compares, directly or indirectly, the nutritional properties of two or more foods

Consumer Packaging and Labelling Act

provides for a uniform method of labelling and packaging of consumer goods (products sold at retail) (CPLA)

Core Nutrition Information

information which is mandatory for all nutrition facts tables as set out in the table following B.01.401

CPLA

acronym for Consumer Packaging and Labelling Act

D

Daily Value

means
a) in respect of a vitamin or mineral nutrient referred to in the definition "recommended daily intake", the recommended daily intake for that vitamin or mineral nutrient, and
b) in respect of a nutrient referred to in the definition "reference standard", the reference standard for that nutrient [B.01.001]

Dangling Comparisons

using words such as "better" and "richer" which often imply a comparison, without indicating its basis

Dietary Fibre

is defined as the endogenous components of plant material in the diet which are resistant to digestion by enzymes produced by humans

Diet-Related Health Claim

is a statement that describes the characteristics of a diet associated with the reduction of the risk of developing a diet-related disease or condition, such as osteoporosis or cancer.

Distributor

or "manufacturer" means a person, including an association or partnership, who under their own name, or under a trade-, design or word mark, trade name or other name, word or mark controlled by them, sells a food or drug [A.01.010]

Drug

includes any substance or mixture of substances manufactured, sold or represented for use in
a) the diagnosis, treatment, mitigation or prevention of a disease, disorder, abnormal physical state, or its symptoms, in human beings or animals
b) restoring, correcting or modifying organic functions in human beings or animals, or
c) disinfection in premises in which food is manufactured, prepared or kept [2, FDA]

Dry Wine

refers to a wine with a low residual sugar content

Durable Life Date

means the date on which the durable life of a prepackaged product ends [B.01.001]

E

Energy Value

means, in respect of a food, the amount of energy made available to a person' s body when the chemical constituents of the food, including protein, fat, carbohydrate and alcohol, are metabolized following ingestion of the food by the person [B.01.001]

Expiration Date

means, in respect of a formulated liquid diet, a food represented for use in a very low-energy diet, a meal replacement or a nutritional supplement, the date
a) after which the manufacturer does not recommend that it be consumed, and
b) up to which it maintains its microbiological and physical stability and the nutrient content declared on the label [B.24.001]

Extended Meat Product

means a meat product to which a meat product extender has been added [B.01.001]

F

Fat

means all fatty acids expressed as triglycerides, in sections B.01.401 to B.01.603 [B.01.400]

FDA

acronym for Food and Drugs Act

FDR

acronym for Food and Drug Regulations

FIA

acronym for Fish Inspection Act

Filler

means any vegetable material (except tomato or beetroot), milk, egg, yeast or any derivative or combination thereof that is acceptable as food [B.14.001, B.22.008]

-------------------

means
a) flour or meal prepared from grain or potato, but not from a legume
b) processed wheat flour containing not less than the equivalent of 80 per cent dextrose, as determined by official method FO-32, Determination of Fillers, Binders and Dextrose Equivalent, October 15, 1981
c) bread, biscuit or bakery products, but not those containing or made with a legume,
d) milk powder, skim milk powder, buttermilk powder or whey powder, and
e) starch [B.21.002]

Fish Inspection Act

applies to fish and fish products which are marketed through import, export and interprovincial trade

Food

includes 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]

Food for Special Dietary Use

means food that has been specially processed or formulated to meet the particular requirements of a person
a) in whom a physical or physiological condition exists as a result of a disease, disorder or injury, or
b) for whom a particular effect, including but not limited to weight loss, is to be obtained by a controlled intake of foods [B.24.001]

Food Group

means one of the following categories of foods:
a) milk products, and milk product alternatives such as fortified plant-based beverages
b) meat, poultry and fish, and alternatives such as legumes, eggs, tofu or peanut butter
c) bread and grain products, or
d) vegetables and fruit [B.01.500]

Formulated Liquid Diet

means a food that
a) is sold for consumption in liquid form, and
b) is sold or represented as a nutritionally complete diet for oral or tube feeding of a person described in paragraph (a) of the definition "food for special dietary use" [B.24.001]

G H

Gluten-Free

is a food that does not contain wheat, including spelt and kamut, or oats, barley, rye, triticale or any part thereof [B.24.018]

Home-made

describes a food that is not commercially prepared and does not require further preparation

I

Imitation Food

resembles the food imitated in flavour, texture, appearance and nutritional value

Imported

food, as a unit, that has been brought into Canada from another country and is sold in Canada without modification to the food itself

Ingredient

means an individual unit of food that is combined as an individual unit of food with one or more individual units of food to form an integral unit of food that is sold as a prepackaged product [B.01.001]

Impressions

words and visual depictions used in advertisements

Isotonic Beverage

denotes a solution having the same concentration of electrolytes and non-electrolytes as another solution with which it is being compared

J K L

Kosher

describes a food that meets the requirements of the kashruth and includes the word "kosher" or any letters of the Hebrew alphabet or any other word, expression, depiction, sign, symbol, mark, device or other representation that indicates or that is likely to create an impression that the food is kosher when used in labelling, packaging, advertising or selling a food [B.01.049]

Label

includes any legend, word or mark attached to, included in, belonging to or accompanying any food, drug, cosmetic, device or package [2, FDA]

Laboratory

suggests scientific personnel, scientific equipment and scientific research

Lot Number

means any combination of letters, figures, or both, by which any food or drug can be traced in manufacture and identified in distribution [A.01.010]

M

Manufacturer

or "distributor" means a person, including an association or partnership, who under their own name, or under a trade-, design or word mark, trade name or other name, word or mark controlled by them, sells a food or drug [A.01.010]

Malted

means that the carbohydrate has been modified by suitable treatment with the diastase of malt

Marine and Fresh Water Animal

includes
a) fish
b) crustaceans, molluscs, other marine invertebrates
c) marine mammals, and
d) frogs

Meal Replacement

means a formulated food that, by itself, can replace one or more daily meals [B.01.001]

Meat Inspection Act

applies to meat and meat products which are marketed through import, export and interprovincial trade

Meat Product Extender

means a food that is a source of protein and that is represented as being for the purpose of extending meat products [B.01.001]

Medicated

term used to describe products containing an added medicinal substance to treat or prevent a disease

MIA

acronym for Meat Inspection Act

Monounsaturated Fatty Acids
Monounsaturated Fat
Monounsaturates
or
Monounsaturated

means cis-monounsaturated fatty acids [B.01.001]

N

Novel Fibre or Novel Fibre Source

is a food that has been manufactured to be a source of dietary fibre, and either has not traditionally been used for human consumption to any significant extent, has been chemically processed or physically processed so as to modify the properties of the fibre or that has been highly concentrated from its plant source

Nutrition Claim

is any statement or expression which describes, directly or indirectly, the level of a nutrient in a food or group of foods

Nutrition Facts Table

means the nutrition facts table that is required by subsection B.01.401(1) to be carried on the label of a prepackaged product [B.01.001]

Nutrition Recommendations for Canadians (NRC)

provides guidance in the selection of a dietary pattern that will supply recommended amounts of all essential nutrients while reducing the risk of chronic diseases

Nutritional Supplement

means a food sold or represented as a supplement to a diet that may be inadequate in energy and essential nutrients [B.01.001]

O

omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids
omega-3 polyunsaturated fat
omega-3 polyunsaturates
omega-3 polyunsaturated
or
omega-3

means
a) 9-cis, 12-cis, 15-cis octadecatrienoic acid or -linolenic acid,
b) 8-cis, 11-cis, 14-cis, 17-cis eicosatetraenoic acid,
c) 5-cis, 8-cis, 11-cis, 14-cis, 17-cis eicosapentaenoic acid or EPA,
d) 7-cis, 10-cis, 13-cis, 16-cis, 19-cis docosapentaenoic acid, or
e) 4-cis, 7-cis, 10-cis, 13-cis, 16-cis, 19-cis docosahexaenoic acid or DHA
[B.01.001]

omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids
omega-6 polyunsaturated fat
omega-6 polyunsaturates
omega-6 polyunsaturated
or
omega-6

means
a) 9-cis, 12-cis octadecadienoic acid or linoleic acid,
b) 6-cis, 9-cis, 12-cis octadecatrienoic acid
c) 8-cis, 11-cis, 14-cis eicosatrienoic acid or di-homo--linolenic acid,
d) 5-cis, 8-cis, 11-cis, 14-cis eicosatetraenoic acid or arachidonic acid,
e) 7-cis, 10-cis, 13-cis, 16-cis docosatetraenoic acid, or
f) 4-cis, 7-cis, 10-cis, 13-cis, 16-cis docosapentaenoic acid
[B.01.001]

Organoleptic Qualities

product characteristics such as flavour, texture, appearance and aroma

Ornamental Container

means a container that, except on the bottom, does not have any promotional or advertising material thereon, other than a trade mark or common name and that, because of any design appearing on its surface or because of its shape or texture, appears to be a decorative ornament and is sold as a decorative ornament in addition to being sold as the container of a product [B.01.001]

Other Foods

means the category of food to which belong foods that are not part of any food group, including
a) foods that are mostly fats, such as butter, margarine, oil or lard;
b) foods that are mostly sugars, such as jam, honey, syrup or confectionery;
c) snack foods, such as potato chips or pretzels;
d) beverages, such as water, tea, coffee or soft drinks; and
e) herbs, spices and condiments, such as pickles, mustard or ketchup. [B.01.500]

 P

Package

includes any thing in which any food, drug, cosmetic or device is wholly or partly contained, placed or packed [2, FDA]

Point

means a unit of measurement for type size that is known as an Anglo-American point and is equal to 0.3514598 mm [B.01.400]

Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids

means cis-methylene interrupted polyunsaturated fatty acids [B.01.001]

Poultry Product

means poultry meat, prepared poultry meat, poultry meat by-product or prepared poultry meat by-product [B.01.001]

Poultry Product Extender

means a food that is a source of protein and that is represented as being for the purpose of extending poultry products [B.01.001]

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]

Prepackaged Meal

means a prepackaged selection of foods for one individual that requires no preparation other than heating and that contains at least one serving, as described in Canada's Food Guide to Healthy Eating, published in 1992 by the Department of Supply and Services by authority of the Minister of National Health and Welfare, of
a) meat, fish, poultry, legumes, nuts, seeds, eggs or milk or milk products other than butter, cream, sour cream, ice-cream, ice milk and sherbet; and
b) vegetables, fruit or grain products [B.01.001]

Prescribed

means prescribed by the Food and Drug Regulations [2, FDA]

Principal Display Panel

means, despite the meaning assigned to that term in section A.01.010,
a) in the case of a label applied to a prepackaged product that is subject to the Consumer Packaging and Labelling Act the principal display panel as defined in the Consumer Packaging and Labelling Regulations,
b) in the case of a label applied to a prepackaged product that is not subject to the Consumer Packaging and Labelling Act, that part of the label applied to all or part of the side or surface of the container that is displayed or visible under normal or customary conditions of sale or use, and where the container does not have such a side or surface, that part of the label applied to any part of the container, except the bottom, if any, and
c) in the case of a label applied to a food that is not a prepackaged product, that part of the label 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]

Processing Aids

are substances/ingredients which are added to a food for a technological effect during processing and which are not present in the finished food product or are present at insignificant or non-functional levels

Product of Canada

See "Made in Canada"

Pure/100% Pure

used to described foods that are uncontaminated, unadulterated and to contain only substances or ingredients that are understood to be part of the food so described

Q R

Reasonable Daily Intake

in respect of a food set out in Column I of an item of Schedule K, means the amount of that food set out in Column II of that item [B.01.001]

Recommended Daily Intake (RDI)

in respect of a vitamin or mineral nutrient set out in column I of Table I to Division 1 of Part D or in column I of Table I to Division 2 of Part D, means
a) in the case of a prepackaged product intended solely for children under two years of age, the quantity set out in column III, and
b) in any other case, the quantity set out in column II [B.01.001]

Recommended Pattern of Eating

refers to the following three guidance documents; Canada' s Food Guide to Healthy Eating (CFGHE), Canada's Guidelines for Healthy Eating (CGHE) and Nutrition Recommendations for Canadians (NRC)

Reference Amount

in respect of a food set out in column 1 of Schedule M, means the amount of that food set out in column 2 [B.01.001]

Reference Food of the Same Food Group

means a food that can be substituted in the diet for the food to which it is compared and that belongs to
a) the same food group as the food to which it is compared, such as cheese as a reference food for milk, or chicken as a reference food for tofu;
b) the category of other foods, if the food to which it is compared also belongs to that category, such as pretzels as a reference food for potato chips; or
c) the category of combination foods, if the food to which it is compared also belongs to that category, such as pizza as a reference food for lasagna. [B.01.500]

Reference Standard

in respect of a nutrient set out in column 1 of the table to section B.01.001.1, means the amount set out in column 2 [B.01.001]

S

Sans Serif Font

a font without projections finishing off the stroke of a letter

Saturated Fatty Acids
Saturated Fat
Saturates
or
Saturated

means all fatty acids that contain no double bonds [B.01.001]

Sell

includes offer for sale, expose for sale, have in possession for sale and distribute, whether or not the distribution is made for consideration [2, FDA]

Sensory Characteristics

characteristic of the food such colour, taste or flavour

Serving Size

is considered to be an amount of food which would reasonably be consumed at one sitting by an adult

Similar Reference Food

means a food of the same type as the food to which it is compared and that has not been processed, formulated, reformulated or otherwise modified in a manner that increases or decreases the energy value or the amount of a nutrient that is the subject of the comparison, such as whole milk as a similar reference food for partly skimmed milk or regular chocolate chip cookies as a similar reference food for fat-reduced chocolate chip cookies [B.01.500]

Simulated Meat Product

means any food that does not contain any meat product, poultry product or fish product but that has the appearance of a meat product [B.01.001]

Simulated Poultry Product

means any food that does not contain any poultry product, meat product or fish product but that has the appearance of a poultry product [B.01.001]

Solid Cut Meat Product

is a whole cut of meat or a product consisting of at least 80% of pieces of boneless, skinless meat weighing a minimum of 25 g each

Sugars

means all monosaccharides and disaccharides [B.01.001]

Sugar Alcohols

includes isomalt, lactitol, maltitol, maltitol syrup, mannitol, sorbitol, sorbitol syrup xylitol and erythritol.

Sweetener

means any food additive listed as a sweetener in Table IX to section B.16.100 [B.01.001]

Sweetening Agent

means glucose-fructose, fructose syrup or any food for which a standard is provided in Division 18 of the FDR, or any combination thereof [B.02.002]

Sweetening Ingredient

means sugar, invert sugar, honey, dextrose, glucose or glucose solids or any combination thereof in dry or liquid form [B.11.001]

T

Third-Party Endorsement

means the approval or sanction of a food by any health professional or health organization or any individual or group represented as such

Trans Fatty Acids
trans fat
or
trans

means unsaturated fatty acids that contain one or more isolated or non-conjugated double bonds in a trans-configuration [B.01.001]

U V W X Y Z

Underground Source

is considered to be a water-bearing formation which is below that zone which is saturated with surface water, the upper part of which is known as the water table

Unstandardized Food

means any food for which a standard is not prescribed in Part B of the Food and Drug Regulations [B.01.001]