Health Canada to modify Lists of Permitted Food Additives

As part of the modernization of food regulations in Canada, Health Canada and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) are removing almost all food additive provisions from the food compositional standards prescribed by the Food and Drug Regulations (FDR) and maintaining or setting out the permitted uses of food additives in these standardized foods in the Lists of Permitted Food Additives.

These changes relate to the proposed Regulations Amending Certain Regulations Concerning Food Additives and Compositional Standards, Microbiological Criteria and Methods of Analysis for Food, which were pre-published in Canada Gazette, Part I, in November 2023.

Currently, the standard for “(naming the flavour) Extract or (naming the flavour) Essence”, and the standard for “(naming the flavour) Flavour”, in sections B.10.003 and B.10.005, respectively, of FDR, allow flavouring preparations that are subject to these standards to contain a food colour, a Class II preservative, a Class IV preservative and, in the case of “(naming the flavour) Flavour,” an emulsifying agent. However, the standards do not prescribe maximum levels of use for these functional classes in the flavouring preparations nor indicate which food additives from these functional classes may be used. Additionally, there are no entries in the applicable Lists of Permitted Food Additives specifically setting out the corresponding permitted use of food additives from these functional classes.

Health Canada intends to correct this and set out specific permitted uses of food colours and preservatives in “(naming the flavour) Extract or (naming the flavour) Essence” and of food colours, preservatives and emulsifying agents in “(naming the flavour) Flavour” in the Lists of Permitted Food Additives, which will incorporated by reference directly into FDR. The specific uses are based on the functional class food additive provisions currently set out in the food compositional standards for these two types of flavouring preparations and information Health Canada has received from industry on the use of food additives from these functional classes in flavouring preparations.

Health Canada says the new list entries will accommodate uses of food additives where the food additive is intended to function as such in the standardized flavouring preparation. Premixes of the standardized flavouring preparation and one or more food additives where the food additive(s) is/are intended to function in the food manufactured with the premix will not by covered by these new list entries. However, Health Canada clarifies that these premixes will be addressed by separate regulatory provisions in the final Regulations Amending Certain Regulations Concerning Food Additives and Compositional Standards, Microbiological Criteria and Methods of Analysis for Food, which will be published in Canada Gazette, Part II.

Health Canada is implementing this change to largely be consistent with what is being done for most other food additive provisions in food compositional standards.