Food Labeling Regulations Flashcards
What does CFIA stands for and what is its mandate?
Canadian Food Inspection Agency; It safeguards food, plants and animals to enhance the health, environment and economy of Canadians
What are CFIA’s 4 departments?
Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada
Fisheries and Oceans Canada
Health Canada
Industry Canada
Describe a few functions of CFIA (5)
Investigate complaints Recall unsafe products Food Labeling Certify exports Prevent/minimize zoonotic diseases
When it comes to food labels, what are the differences in functions of Health Canada and the CFIA?
Health Canada will establish policies/regulations/standards and will provide consumers information
CFIA will enforce what Health Canada establishes
This section “No person shall label or sell any food in a manner that is false, misleading or deceptive or is likely to create an erroneous impression regarding its composition or safety” is part of which legislation?
Food and Drugs Act and Regulations
What are the 7 basic labeling requirements
Bilingual Best Before Date Nutrition Information Common Name Net Quantity Name & Address of Company List of Ingredients
What are the two definitions of the “Common Name” given to a product?
Name prescribed by a regulation
If no prescribed name, name by which the product is commonly known
The Best Before Date is for what type of product and should be accompanied with what if necessary?
It is for product with durable life of 90 days or less; it must include storage instructions if they are different than room temperature
In what language should the Name & Address of company be written?
French OR English
In what units should the Net Quantity be in and what is its purpose?
Should be in metric units and it allows to calculate the nutritional information of the whole package
In the list of ingredients, which ingredients do not need to follow the golden rule?
spices seasonings herbs flavorings flavor enhancers food additives vitamins minerals (expect SALT!!)
With the new regulation, what do sugar-based ingredients include?
Mono-di-saccharide
A sweetening agent (lactose, fancy molasses)
Product functioning as a sweetening agent (concentrated grape juice)
What are some causes of Undeclared Allergens? (4)
Incomplete cleaning
Labeling error
Ingredient changes/substitutions
Unknown ingredient in raw material
Name the allergens that always need to be declared (10)
Peanuts, Tree nuts, Milk products, Eggs, Soy, Seafood, Sesame seed, Wheat, Mustard seed, Sulphites
What needs to be done with packaging when a product has artificial sweeteners
It needs to be indicated on the label and they need to be included in the ingredients list
What foods are exempt of nutritional labeling (5)
Foods with insignificant amount of core nutrients Beverages with more than 0.5% alcohol Fresh fruits and vegetables Raw meat, poultry and fish One bite confections
What happens if the Net Quantity is within 200% of the reference amount displayed on Health Canada
The serving size must be equal to the entire package
What are examples of Nutrient Content Claims?
Low in Fat, Source of Vit C, Very High source of fibers
On what are Nutrient Content Claims based upon?
They are based on a Regulated Reference Amount
4g or more of fibre per ref. amount of 55g
What Health claims are foods, drugs or cosmetics prohibited?
To be advertised as a treatment/prevention/cure for diseases/disorders/…
What are the 3 “grades” of Organic labeling?
at least 95% organic = organic
]70, 95%[ = can call organic, but cannot have label
less than 70% = can declare organic ingredients
What is the difference between a Product of Canada and a product Made in Canada
Product of Canada = Manufacturing & Manpower are Canadian, at least 98% of ingredients are Canadian
Made in Canada = The last substantial transformation was done in Canada
What does a product Made in Canada needs to indicate?
If it is made with: imported ingredients Vs. domestic and imported ingredients
