News Release
2003-36
May 28, 2003
For immediate release
Minister announces next round of stakeholder consultations on food fortification
OTTAWA - The Honourable Anne McLellan, Minister of Health, today announced
the next round of consultations on the new food fortification policy, noting that a meeting
for stakeholders would take place in Ottawa on June 23, 2003. The Minister also announced
a deferral of pending decisions on specific food fortification requests until the fall,
2003.
The revision of Canada's food fortification policy was launched by Health Canada in 1998
in response to concerns from some sectors of the food industry and consumers that our current
regulations are overly restrictive. The new policy, and the regulations that will follow,
will confirm the use of fortification to address public health issues and maintain the
nutritional quality of the food supply. When implemented, it is anticipated that the new
policy will also establish a new category of discretionary fortification and an expanded
category of special purpose foods. This will give Canadians more choices in the foods they
buy while maintaining the government's responsibility to ensure that the food supply is
both nutritious and safe.
It is also anticipated that the new policy will use a new reference value, the Tolerable
Upper Levels of Intake (UL), a recently-established threshold to assess exposure of the
population to intakes that pose a risk to health.
"The health of Canadians is our number one priority," said Minister McLellan. "The ULs
will allow us to protect the health of Canadian families and children when making decisions
about the addition of nutrients to food."
The ULs were established by panels of experts, including Canadian scientists, working
with the U.S. Institute of Medicine (IOM) and jointly funded by Canada and the U. S. to
quantify the safe limits of intake of certain nutrients. The new ULs allow Health Canada
to quantify how much of a good thing is "too much," that is, the point at which consumption
of vitamins and minerals could lead to adverse health effects.
Health Canada, the U. S. Food and Drug Administration and the U. S. Department of Agriculture
have jointly commissioned the IOM to study the issue of how to use the new ULs in determining
nutrition policy and regulations. The IOM advice is due back to both Canada and the U.
S. by the end of September 2003.
The anticipated advice from the U. S. Institutes of Medicine will not impede progress
on the policy revision but will have an impact on decisions on specific food fortification
requests from companies in several sectors of the food industry, wanting to add nutrients
to their food products at levels greater than are currently permitted in Canada.
Regarding these expressions of interest, Minister McLellan stated, "We believe a
precautionary approach is appropriate and are therefore deferring any decisions on specific
requests to increase fortification. Awaiting all available scientific evidence before
finalizing our policy supports our ongoing commitment to making decisions based on sound
science."
The federal government regulates both the mandatory fortification of some nutrients - to
make sure Canadians receive adequate amounts of the nutrient - and the upper limits of
fortification of some nutrients - to make sure Canadians do not consume a dangerous amount
of them.
The updated policy will confirm that the addition of vitamins and minerals to foods, within
permitted levels, can be helpful in maintaining and improving the quality of the food supply
in a manner consistent with public health priorities.
-30-
Media Inquiries:
Margot Geduld
Media Relations
Health Canada
(613) 957-1588
Farah Mohamed
Office of Anne McLellan
Minister of Health
(613) 957-0200
Public Inquiries:
(613) 957-2991
|
