The Canadian Food Inspection Agency has revamped the labeling and advertising section of its website based on feedback from a June 2009 questionnaire. A similar questionnaire exists for the new site, and there’s even an interactive labeling overview.
Onward and upward!
Leave a Comment August 6, 2010
It looks like the Food and Drug Administration is revamping its labeling regulations. From the press release:
The FDA soon will propose guidance regarding calorie and nutrient labeling on the front of food packages and plans to work collaboratively with the food industry to design and implement innovative approaches to front-of-package labeling that can help consumers choose healthy diets.
The catalyst for this move appears to be the number of recent transgressions that the FDA has called out.
Leave a Comment July 28, 2010
CFIA has released details about how it will enforce the distinction between the claims “Product of Canada” and “Made in Canada.”
In a nutshell, several factors will be considered, including whether an offending package’s claims are in line with the previous guidelines and whether “good faith” steps have been taken to rectify the offense. For the first six months after the implementation of the new guidelines, CFIA will take no action other than education and warning letters as long as there is deemed to have been no “bad faith.”
Leave a Comment June 25, 2010
In what is being called a landmark decision for health-benefit claims, Health Canada has decided that the labels of foods that contain plant sterols are allowed to boast their cholesterol-lowering health benefits. Unilever’s Becel margarine is Canada’s first sterol-fortified food.
Leave a Comment June 17, 2010
On June 30th, Canada’s new Organic Products Regulations took effect. CFIA will be involved in the implementation of the new regulations, which were drawn up in the hopes of achieving a more rigorous certification process for organic products.
Leave a Comment July 9, 2009
Displaying information on small and/or awkward packages can be problematic, and CFIA’s regulations for such packages are sometimes confusing. In particular, it seems that regulations concerning cosmetics packages have caused a significant amount of confusion. It’s not hard to imagine the difficulty in trying to display an ingredient list on a lipstick container, a mesh bag of bath beads, or a decorative perfume bottle.
Leave a Comment May 12, 2009
In April, Health Canada posted a new set of guidelines concerning the use of health claims on foods containing probiotics, which are microorganisms touted for their health benefits — improved digestion, for example. CFIA has updated its Health Claims chapter to incorporate the new guidelines.
Leave a Comment May 9, 2009
In 2007, the federal government decided to review and update the requirements for claims such as “Made in Canada” and “Product of Canada”. Under the new regulations, which came into effect December 31, 2008, every ingredient in a food must come from Canada for that food to earn the claim “Product of Canada”.
Leave a Comment March 7, 2009
CFIA has launched an online magazine, liaison, to be the “voice of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.” The magazine’s ultimate purpose is to “enhance communications with [its] stakeholders in industry, academia, public advocacy and government.” Among the magazine’s goals is a significant dialogue with its audience, who is encouraged to submit “letters to the editor, suggestions and contributions,” which include ideas or manuscripts for essays, commentaries, feature stories, etc.
Leave a Comment January 27, 2009
