Revised Labelling Regulations for Food Allergens, Gluten Sources and Sulphites
(Amendments to the Food and Drug Regulations)

OTTAWA, February 16, 2010: Food labelling regulations under the Food and Drug Regulations have been amended and published by Health Canada on February 16, 2011.

The new regulations will enhance labelling for food allergens, gluten sources and added sulphites. Mustard is listed as a new priority allergen. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) is responsible for enforcing the new amendments, which will come into force on August 4, 2012

The purpose of this notice is to inform you of the compliance requirements under the new regulations and to outline the CFIA's implementation plan.

Overview of new requirements

The regulatory amendments enhance the labelling of prepackaged products. They do this by requiring mandatory declaration of the sources of common food allergens and gluten when they are present in a prepackaged product. They also require the declaration of added sulphites if they are present in a prepackaged product in a total amount of 10 parts per million (ppm) or more. These declarations will be required to appear on the label of the product:

• in consistent and easy to understand terminology, and
• either in the list of ingredients or in a statement that begins with the word "Contains".

In addition, the common names for starches, modified starches, hydrolyzed plant protein and lecithin must be modified to provide information regarding the source from which these ingredients are derived (for example, wheat starch).

Compliance before the coming into force on August 4, 2012

Until the new regulations come into force on August 4, 2012 the CFIA will continue its current compliance and enforcement activities under the Food and Drugs Act and the Consumer Packaging and Labelling Act. This means that during the 18-month coming-into-force period, where undeclared allergens are identified as posing a health risk by Health Canada, the products will continue to be subject to enforcement action by the CFIA. This includes possible product recall. In addition, the CFIA encourages industry to continue to identify the plant source of ingredients on labels (for example, hydrolyzed soy protein, wheat starch, modified wheat starch, soy lecithin). For more information, please see the CFIA's Declaration of Food Allergens Prepackaged Foods, originally issued to industry on March 23, 2007.

The period of 18 months between registering the amendments for publication and the coming-into-force date allows time for label revisions, reformulations or other activities required to comply with the new labelling requirements. It also provides consumers a defined date when they can expect prepackaged foods sold in Canada to be in compliance with the new regulations.

The CFIA reminds food manufacturers, importers, distributors and retailers of their responsibility to ensure that the food they sell are safe for all consumers, including those with food allergies. A prepackaged food product can be unsafe for people with food allergies if some of those ingredients or components are priority allergens and are not declared on the label. For those with food allergies and intolerances, avoiding the ingredient is the only way to protect themselves. Enhanced allergen labelling will give people with allergies or intolerances more information to make their food choices. While not required until the coming into force date, companies may start preparing new labels based on the new regulations at any time over the next 18 months.

Compliance after the coming into force on August 4, 2012

When the new regulations come into force on August 4, 2012, all pre-packaged foods being offered for sale on and after August 4, 2012 must be in compliance with the new regulations. This includes imported and domestically produced foods, sold at all levels of trade in Canada.

CFIA implementation plan

The CFIA will continue to address health and safety risks as per existing requirements until the amendments come into force. Tools to assist industry to meet the new requirements will be made available online in the coming months. As the coming-into-force date approaches, the CFIA will increase laboratory analysis capacity, incorporate the new requirements into program design, and train inspectors to enforce the amendments.

Information sources

The following tools are available online and will be further updated in the coming months, to assist industry in bringing products into compliance by August 4, 2012, when all foods are expected to meet the new requirements:

• Health Canada's web page on allergens
  (www.hc-sc.gc.ca/fn-an/label-etiquet/allergen/index-eng.php)
• The CFIA's web page on food labelling and advertising (www.inspection.gc.ca/english/fssa/labeti/labetie.shtml)