Health Canada’sHealthy Eating StrategyMaking the healthier choice, the easier choice

Nutrition Symbols, Other Labelling Provisions, Partially Hydrogenated

Oils and Vitamin D in Canada Gazette, Part I

March 1, 2018

Introduction of moderator

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Élaine De Grandpré

Manager

Bureau of Nutritional Sciences

Food Directorate

Outline

Introduction (5 minutes)

Proposed regulations on front-of-package nutrition labelling (25 minutes)

Questions (10 minutes)

Other proposed amendments and transitional provisions (25 minutes)

▪ Amendments to nutrition and health claims

▪ Amendments to vitamin D fortification

▪ Consequential amendments related to the prohibition of partially hydrogenated oils

▪ Amendments to high-intensity sweetener labelling

▪ Transitional provisions

Conclusions and next steps (5 minutes)

Questions (10 minutes)

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Introduction of speaker

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Susan SinclairSenior Project Coordinator

Bureau of Nutritional Sciences

Food Directorate

Health Canada

Proposed Regulations on Front-of-Package Nutrition Symbols

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1. Provide consumers with quick and easy guidance on foods

that are high in sodium, sugars and/or saturated fat

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FOP nutrition symbol objectives

2. Encourage manufacturers

to offer foods lower in

sodium, sugars and/or

saturated fat

Proposed FOP symbol options

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Proposed FOP symbol options

Thresholds for use

Basis for thresholds

The amount of a food that will be used as a basis for the thresholds is proposed to be the largest (in grams) of:

• the reference amount;

• the serving size that appears in the Nutrition Facts table; or

• 50 g of the food*

* if its serving size and reference amount are less than 50 g or mL and the % DV of the nutrient in a serving and reference amount of the food is 5% or more

** Daily Values for children aged 1 to 4 years are lower than those for the general population

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Sodium Sugars Sat Fat

Prepackaged foods 15% DV

(350 mg)

15% DV

(15 g)

15% DV

(3 g)

Foods intended solely for children 1 to 4

years of age**

15% DV

(230 mg)

15% DV

(8 g)

15% DV

(1.5 g)

Proposed thresholds for requiring a FOP nutrition symbol

B.01.350

Thresholds for use

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Basis

Reference amount:250 mL

Serving size in the NFt:200 mL

50 g of the food

Basis

Reference amount:30 g

Serving size in the NFt:45 g

50 g of the food

B.01.350

Foods with small reference amounts

On back of package:

Use Serving Size

Per tbsp• 11 g of

sugars (11% DV)

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B.01.350(2)(a)Does the product contain ≥ 5% of the DV per serving or reference amount of a nutrient of concern?

Use 50g

Per 50 g • 28 g of

sugars (28% DV)

(< 50 g or 50 mL)

Yes No

Foods with small reference amounts

On back of package:

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B.01.350(2)(a)

Use Serving Size

Per tsp• 55 mg of

sodium (2% DV)

Does the product contain ≥ 5% of the DV per serving or reference amount of a nutrient of concern?

Use 50g

Per 50 g • 520 mg of

sodium (23 % DV)

Yes No

(< 50 g or 50 mL)

Exemption from the small reference amount adjustment (for saturated fat)

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B.01.350(3)

Examples include:

Nuts / nut butters Seeds Vegetable oils

“if no more than 30% of the total fat content of a prepackaged product is composed of saturated fat and trans fat, the percentage of the daily value of saturated fat is calculated on the basis of the amount of saturated fat, by weight, per serving of stated size or per reference amount, whichever is greater”

If the sugar and/or sodium threshold is met, an FOP symbol will be

required on these foods

Use the greater of serving size or reference amount

Does the product contain ≥ 5% of the DV per serving or reference amount of saturated fat?

Use 50g

Yes No

Is the total fat content of the product 30% saturated fat or less?

Yes

No

Definitions - B.01.001(1)

Prepackaged Meal [revised]: a single-serving prepackaged product that requires no preparation other than heating and that contains a minimum of one reference amount of food from specific food categories (specified in the regulations) and is represented or sold as a meal

Main Dish [new]: a prepackaged product that requires no preparation other than heating and that contains a reference amount of food from each of at least two categories of food (specified in the regulations) and is represented or sold as a major component of a meal, other than beverages and desserts

Prepackaged meals and main dishes

Sodium Sugars Sat Fat

30% DV

(690 mg)

30% DV

(30 g)

30% DV

(6 g)

Thresholds - B.01.350

Exemptions from carrying an FOP symbol

Foods exempt from the requirement to display a Nutrition Facts tableFor example:

• foods sold at farmers’ markets• raw, single cut meats, poultry and fish

Foods for which there is evidence for health protection either for the general population, or for vulnerable subpopulationsFor example:

• fruits and vegetables without added ingredients • plain milk (2%, 3.25%)• whole eggs, fresh or in liquid, frozen or dried form• individual rations for use in military operations

Foods on which the FOP nutrition symbol would be redundantFor example:

• sugar• maple syrup• table salt

B.01.350(3)-B.01.350(5)

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Prohibitions from carrying an FOP symbol

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A prepackaged product intended solely for infants six months of age

to less than one year of age (Division 25)

A formulated liquid diet

A human milk substitute (Division 25)

A food represented as containing a human milk substitute (Division 25)

A food represented for use in a very low energy diet

Other Division 24 regulated products will be required to carry an FOP

symbol. These include:

Meal replacements

Nutritional supplements

Prepackaged meals and foods sold by weight reduction clinics

B.01.350(6)

Symbol size and principal display surface

B.01.352 and table following

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B.01.352 and table following

Symbol size and principal display surface

Presentation of FOP symbolB.01.351 - B.01.354

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Directory of Nutrition Symbol Formats

https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/programs/consultation-front-of-package-nutrition-labelling-cgi/directory-of-nutrition-symbol-formats.html

[Range: 1.5 mm – 3.5 mm]

Buffer zone

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B.01.355(3),B.01.355(4)

Language

B.01.351(2)

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B.01.355 (1)(b), B.01.355 (2)

Location of nutrition symbol

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B.01.355(1)(a)

Location of nutrition symbol

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Assortments and packaged ingredients

Prepackaged product that contains an assortment of foods:

➢ The nutrition symbol or symbols must clearly indicate, for each food, the nutrients that meet or exceed the applicable threshold

Prepackaged product that contains separately packaged ingredients or foods that are intended to be consumed together:

➢ The nutrition symbol must display the nutrients that meet or exceed the applicable threshold for the product as a whole

B.01.353 - B.01.354

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Claims placement

Nutrition symbol must be on the top 25% of this package’s principal display panel (PDP)

Other claims/statements must be made on the bottom 65% of this package’s PDP

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B.01.301(4), B.01.311(6), B.01.357(1), B.01.501.1(1), B.01.600.1(1), D.01.001.2(1)

Claims placement

Nutrition symbol must be in the right-most 25% of this package’s

PDP

Other claims/statements must be displayed on the

left 65% of this package’s PDP

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B.01.301(4), B.01.311(6), B.01.357(1), B.01.501.1(1), B.01.600.1(1), D.01.001.2(1)

Claims size

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As displayed in the Directory of Nutrition Symbol Formats

B.01.301(5), B.01.311(7), B.01.357(2), B.01.501.1(2), B.01.600.1(2), D.01.001.2(2)

Proposed Amendments to Nutrition Claims and Statements

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Nutrient content claims

Table of Permitted Nutrient Content Statements and Claims B.01.513

The table following section B.01.513 will be repealed from the FDR and incorporated by reference as the Table of Permitted Nutrient Content Statements and Claims.

Amendments to certain nutrient content claims and health claims

Claim Section of FDR

Sugars-related nutrient content claims

Table of Permitted Nutrient Content Statements and Claims: Items 37, 37.1, 40 and 40.1

Addition of synonyms to 3 “free of” claims

Table of Permitted Nutrient Content Statements and Claims: Items 18, 22 and 37

Beverages with 0-0.5% alcohol B.01.502(2)(j)

Foods intended solely for young children

B.01.502(2)(g), B.01.503(2), B.01.601(1)(c)(i)

Foods represented for use in a sodium restricted diet

B.01.508

Sugars-related nutrient content claims

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No added sugars

Current status

“No added sugars" claim is intended to be used on foods which do not contain added sugars, ingredients containing added sugars, or ingredients that contain sugars that functionally substitute for "added sugars“

Proposal

Update condition to align with the recent changes to the labelling of sugars in the list of ingredients and the proposed FOP nutrition labelling initiative

Sugars-related nutrient content claims

Claim Health Canada proposal Rationale

Free of sugars Change condition from “free of energy” to “low in energy”

Allow claim on foods contributing small amounts of energy to align with Canada’s major trading partners

Unsweetened (allowed on foods that do not contain sweeteners)

Move from B.01.509 to the new Table and Repeal of B.01.509

Necessary to move the claim to the new Table as the table following B.01.513 will be repealed from the FDR

Low in sugars New claim for foods with≤5 g sugars (5% Daily Value or DV) per serving and per reference amount*

Encourage the availability of more foods that would help Canadians limit their intake of sugars

*If the reference amount is 30 g or 30 mL or less, the food must contain ≤5 g sugars per 50 g and if the food is a pre-packaged meal, it must contain ≤5 g sugars per 100 g

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Current status

Quantitative declarations (0 g) is permitted outside of the Nutrition Facts table, even when the food doesn’t meet all the conditions of use for the “free of” claims for:

– saturated fat

– trans fat

– sugars

Proposal

Health Canada is proposing to add the following synonyms to the "free of" claims for the respective nutrients:

"0 g (naming the nutrient)"

"zero g (naming the nutrient)"

"0 gram (naming the nutrient)"

"zero gram (naming the nutrient)“

Addition of synonyms to three “free of” claims

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Current status

There are restrictions on the representation of the amount of alcohol in beverages containing less than 0.5% alcohol

Proposal

Replace the current B.01.502(2)(j) with “a representation that characterizes the amount of alcohol in a beverage”

Beverages with 0-0.5% alcohol

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B.01.502(2)(j)

Foods intended solely for young children

Current status

References to "food intended solely for children under two years of age" in the FDR do not reflect the change in age range for young children published in the 2016 nutrition labelling regulations

Proposal

Amend applicable sections of the regulations to reflect the new age range: i.e., “food intended solely for children under four years of age”

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B.01.502(2)(g), B.01.503(2), B.01.601(1)(c)(i)

Claims affectedCurrent

requirementHealth Canada

proposal

• Protein related nutrient content claims: source, excellent, more [B.01.503(2)(a)-(c)]

• No added sodium or salt [B.01.503(2)(d)]

• No added sugars [B.01.503(2)(e)]

• Health claim prohibition [B.601(1)(c)(i)]

Food intended solely for children under two years of age

Food intended solely for children under four years of age

• Starch content claim [B.01.502(2)(g)]

Food intended solely for children under two years of age

Food intended solely for infants six months of age or older but less than one year of age

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Foods intended solely for young children

B.01.502(2)(g), B.01.503(2), B.01.601(1)(c)(i)

Current status

A food for use in a sodium-restricted diet may use claims such as “free of sodium or salt”, “low in sodium or salt”, “reduced in sodium or salt”, or “lower in sodium or salt”

Proposal

Add a provision that, when a food is required to carry a nutrition symbol referring to “high in” sodium, it will not be permitted to represent the food for use in a sodium-restricted diet, even when the food may make a claim about “reduced in sodium or salt”, or “lower in sodium or salt”

Foods represented for use in a sodium restricted diet

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B.01.508

Proposed Updates to theLabelling of Four

High-Intensity Sweeteners

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Regulatory context

• High intensity sweeteners, which are used as “sugar substitutes”, are regulated as food additives in Canada

• As food additives, their use is subject to pre-market approval to ensure that they are safe and that they achieve the claimed technical effect

• As with any food additive, the presence of sweeteners must be indicated in the food’s list of ingredients (LOI)

Current labelling requirements

Declaration on

the principal

display panel

Aspartame

content in mg

per serving

Statement to

the effect that

aspartame

contains

phenylalanine

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New labelling requirements

Declaration on the

principal display

panel is no longer

required

The mandatory

statement appears in

bold and at the end

of the LOI, making it

more noticeable and

easier to locate.

Aspartame remains

in the list of

ingredients (LOI),

but its quantity is

no longer required

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Why the change?

• These sweeteners have an established history of safe use in Canada

• Other high-intensity sweeteners and ingredients of concern (e.g., priority allergens) are not subject to such additional labelling requirements

• Health-based rationale exists for additional labelling for aspartame, but not for the other three sweeteners

➢ The mandatory declaration in the list of ingredients is sufficient to identify the presence of these sweeteners

• Technical challenges to label design, particularly for small or irregularly-shaped packages

• Canada is inconsistent with other regulatorsUSA, UK, EU, and Australia/New Zealand do not require a PDP declaration or declaration of content in mg for any sweeteners

Prohibiting Partially Hydrogenated Oils:

Consequential Amendments

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Current regulatory context

• September 15, 2017: Health Canada published a regulatory Notice of Modification (NOM) confirming its decision to prohibit the use of partially hydrogenated oils (PHOs) – the main source of industrially produced trans fats in foods.

• The prohibition will be implemented on September 15 2018, by adding PHOs to Part 1 of the incorporated List of Contaminants and Other Adulterating Substances in Foods.

Consequential amendments

• Certain consequential amendments to the Food and Drug Regulations are needed to ensure coherence between the prohibition provided in the incorporated list and related provisions prescribed in the Food and Drug Regulations.

• Types of amendments:

– Prescribe definitions

– Repeal references to PHOs from certain regulatory provisions

– Amend references to hydrogenated/hydrogenation to specify “fully” hydrogenated / “full” hydrogenation

Proposed Amendments to Vitamin D Fortification

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Increasing vitamin D in the food supply will help bring us closer to our public health goal for Canadians:

➢ To promote adequate bone health, by minimizing risk of deficiency without incurring risk of excessive intakes

Vitamin D fortification

Background on vitamin D

• Helps the body use calcium and phosphorus to maintain strong bones and teeth

• Obtained from food and supplements and can be made by the body after exposure to sunlight

➢ Fortified foods, primarily milk, are the major dietary source

• Meeting current intake recommendations through food is challenging

• ~20% of Canadians at risk of inadequacy ~8% are at risk of deficiency

➢ Rates higher in subpopulations at risk

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Food Provisions Current Vitamin D

ProposedVitamin D

Milk

B.08.003-005B.08.007B.08.010-014B.08.016-020B.08.023B.08.026B.08.029

0.9 to 1.2 µg per 100 mL

[300 to 400 IU per Reasonable Daily

Intake]

2 µg per 100 mL

or

5 µg per 250 mL (250 mL = reference amount or serving)

Margarine B.09.016 13.3 to 17.5 µg per 100 g

[530 to 690 IU per 100 g]

26 µg per 100 g

or

2.6 µg per 10 g(10 g = reference amount or serving)

Vitamin D fortification

Proposed FDR amendments

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Vitamin D levels in milk Vitamin D levels in margarine

Current2.3 µg/250 mL

Proposed5 µg/250 mL

Current1.3 µg/10 g

Proposed2.6 µg/10 g

Daily value45% 100% 25% 50%

5 µg (former)

20 µg (new)13% 25% 8% 13%

Representation of the %DV in the Nutrition Facts table

Vitamin D fortification

Vitamin D fortification

Two-phased Fortification Strategy

↑ Mandatory levels of vitamin D in:

MILKand

MARGARINE

Consider permitting optional addition of vitamin D to suitable vehicles based on popularity of consumption in subpopulations

at risk

Permit fortification of YOGURT and fortified

PLANT BASED BEVERAGEat the same level being proposed

for milk

Phase1

Phase2

A

B

Approach recognizes the important contribution of milk and margarine to those who consume them

Approach recognizes the increasing popularity of yogurt and the consumption of fortified plant based beverages as an alternative to milk

Approach recognizes the diversity of dietary patterns

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(As needed)

Coming Into Force & Transitional Provisions

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Milestones and next steps

FEBRUARY 10, 2018

Notice of Proposal published: Nutrition Labelling - Table of Permitted Nutrient Content Statements and Claims

FEBRUARY 10 – APRIL 26, 2018

Nutrition Symbol online consultation

WINTER-SPRING, 2018

FOP consumer research

Notice of Modification published: FOP nutrition symbol

Notice of Modification published: Nutrition Labelling - Table of Permitted Nutrient Content Statements and Claims

FEBRUARY 10, 2018

Publication in Canada Gazette, Part I: Nutrition symbols, other labelling provisions, partially hydrogenated oils and vitamin D

APRIL 26, 2018

Canada Gazette, Part I consultation period closes

SPRING-SUMMER, 2018

Additional stakeholder engagement

Project Milestones Partially Hydrogenated OilsClaimsFront-of-package labelling

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SEPTEMBER 15, 2017

Notice of Modification: Prohibiting the Use of Partially Hydrogenated Oils (PHOs) in Foods

Vitamin D

SEPTEMBER 15, 2018

PHO Prohibition comes into force DECEMBER 2022

Transition period ends

FALL 2018

Publication in Canada Gazette, Part II: Nutrition symbols, other labelling provisions, partially hydrogenated oils and vitamin D

SPRING 2020

Amendments to vitamin D fortification come into force

Front-of-package nutrition labelling consultation

https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/programs/consultation-front-of-package-nutrition-labelling-cgi.html

Front-of-Package Nutrition Symbol Consumer Consultation

https://www.healthyeatingconsultations.ca/

Thank you for your participation

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For more information