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
CBC.ca offers a useful interactive feature about Canada’s Nutrition Facts Tables. The tone is more conversational than CFIA regulations, making the information very easy to understand. A link to a related article or video is included at the end of each topic (although, beware, not all of them work).
This is an excellent idea, because nutrition labeling is often difficult to understand.
Leave a Comment April 23, 2010
If you have four minutes to spare and you’ve ever been baffled or frustrated or struck silly by Nutrition Facts Table serving sizes, we highly recommend that you check out this snippet of a Brian Regan standup routine.
We love Fig Newtons too, Brian! How long until the Cranberry guy pitches Cran Newtons?
Leave a Comment March 31, 2010
A recent study shows that advertized calorie counts are often incorrect, and sometimes by a wide margin. The reason, according to the researchers, isn’t dishonesty on the part of food makers. Rather, there are a few possibilities, ranging from differences in testing methods, preparation of the food itself, and serving sizes, which, as it turns out, might be ready for an update.
There’s little reason to assume that it’s only calorie counts that can be inaccurate. This is a good reminder that nutrition labeling will never be perfect and that it is best used as a general guide rather than an inscrutably precise measure.
Leave a Comment January 12, 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
Ask enough English/French translators, and you’ll probably end up with one group adamantly favouring a space before an exclamation mark in French copy and a group adamantly opposing it. Similarly, some MVS clients prefer the space, and others do not.
Leave a Comment July 1, 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
