Module 4 Flashcards
What is the Department of Justice Canada responsible for?
- Maintaining the Consolidated Statutes and Regulations for the Government of Canada - including the Food and Drugs Act and Food and Drug Regulations
The Food and Drugs Act of Canada is administered by the […]
Health Products and Food Branch of Health Canada
Inspections for compliance of the Food and Drugs Act of Canada are enforced by the […].
Canadian Food Inspection Agency
What is the regulatory function of Health Canada?
- Setting food and drug regulation standards of identity and composition for foods
- Food additive regulations
What is the regulatory function of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency?
- Provides inspection services related to the food
- Responsible for administration and enforcement of different Acts including:
- Food and Drugs Act
- Agriculture and Agri-Food Administrative Monetary Penalities Act
- Food Labelling for Industry
What is the regulatory function of Measurement Canada?
- Responsible for ensuring accuracy in the selling of measured goods
- Developing and enforcing the laws related to measurement accuracy
- Approving and inspecting measuring devices and investigating complaints of suspected inaccurate measurements.
What is the regulatory function of British Columbia Ministry of Health?
- Public health inspection of retail stores and foodservice establishments
- Inspection of provincially inspected meat processing plants and dairy processing plants
What is the regulatory function of Municipalities?
- Public health inspection of retail stores and foodservice establishments
Which sections of the Food and Drugs Act form the foundation of the consumer protection laws?
Sections 3, 4, 5, and 7
It is interesting to note that Section 3 of the Food and Drugs Act prohibits the advertising to the general public of any food, drug, cosmetic or device for the treatment, prevention or cure of any of the diseases listed on Schedule A of the Food and Drugs Act. This section of the Act also prohibits the sale of a food, drug, cosmetic or device that is labeled in this manner.
What are some notable excerpts from Section 3 of the Food and Drugs Act?
(1) No person shall advertise any food, drug, or cosmetic or device to the general public as a treatment, preventative or cure for any of the diseases, disorders, or abnormal physical states referred to in Schedule A.
(2) No person shall sell any food, drug, cosmetic, or device that is (a) represented by label, or (b) that is represented to the general public as a treatment, preventative or cure for any of the diseases, disorders or abnormal physical states referred to in schedule A.
Some of the diseases mentioned in schedule A include alcoholism, appendicitis, arthritis, cancer, depression, diabetes, heart disease, hypertension, liver diseases, obesity, sexual impotence, tumours, and venereal disease.
What are some notable excerpts from Section 5 of the Food and Drugs Act?
(1) No person shall label, package, treat, process, sell, or advertise any food in a manner that is false, misleading or deceptive or is likely to create an erroneous impression regarding its character value, quantity, composition, merit or safety;
(2) An article of food that is not labelled or packaged as required by the regulations, or is labelled or packaged contrary to the regulations, shall be deemed to be labelled or packaged contrary to subsection (1).
What are some notable excerpts from Section 4 of the Food and Drugs Act?
No person shall sell an article of food that:
(a) has in or upon it any poisonous or harmful substance;
(b) is unfit for human consumption;
(c) consists in whole or in part of any filthy, putrid, disgusting, rotten, decomposed, or diseased animal or vegetable substance;
(d) is adulterated;
(e) was manufactured, prepared, preserved, packaged, or stored under unsanitary conditions.
What are some notable excerpts from Section 7 of the Food and Drugs Act?
(a) No person shall manufacture, prepare, preserve, package or store for sale any food under unsanitary conditions.
Regulations regarding labelling, advertising, and claims about food are adminstered by […].
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency
Weights and measures are regulated by […].
“Innovation, Science and Development Canada” specifically by an agency known as “Measurement Canada”.
Labelling information required on pre-packaged food products, from domestic or imported products, is based on […].
Consumer Packaging and Labelling Act and Regulations
What are the core labelling requirements?
- Bilingual labelling
- Common name of the food
- Country of origin
- Date marking and storage instructions (required for foods with a storage life of 90 days or less)
- Identity and principal place of business
- Irradiated foods
- Legibility and location
- List of ingredients (in descending order of proportion)
- Nutrition facts label
- Net quantity
- Sweeteners
- Other mandatory information (e.g., % alcohol for liquor, % milk fat for dairy)
What is durable life?
- The period of time, beginning on the day on which the pre-packaged product is packaged for retail sale, during which a product stored under prescribed conditions will retain, without appreciable deterioration, its normal wholesomeness, palatability, and nutritional value and any other quanlities claimed for it by the manufacturer.
- Products that have passed the durable life date and that have been stored under prescribed conditions are still safe to eat but the quality (appearance, flavour, nutritional value) may have deteriorated.
What must the nutrition facts table show?
- Calories
- Amount of fat, saturated, and trans fats
- Cholesterol
- Sodium
- Carbohydrates
- Fibres
- Sugars
- Protein
- Calcium
- Iron
- Vitamins A and C
Nutrient content claims and diet-related health claims, if made, must adhere to the stated criteria. What are the 6 disease reduction claims allowed in Canada?
- Disease Risk Reduction Claims with Respect to Sodium and Potassium
- Disease Risk Reduction Claims with Respect to Calcium and Vitamin D
- Disease Risk Reduction Claims with Respect to Saturated and Trans Fats
- Disease Risk Reduction Claims with Respect to Cancer Risk Reduction
- Disease Risk Reduction Claims with Respect to Heart Disease Risk Reduction
- Disease Risk Reduction Claims with Respect to Dental Caries
What are unstandardized foods?
Foods that do not have a standard of identity like potato chips, various bakery items, yogurt, and pizza.
What are standardized foods?
- Foods with standards of identity and composition that have to be met for the food to be legalled called by the name in the standard
- For example: bread, milk, cheese, orange juice, sausage, jam, wine, beer, vinegar, and salt.
What are identity and compositional standards?
- An identity standard is one that states what the food shall be and defines a food or ingredient.
- Compositional standards list the mandatory and permitted ingredients in foods.
There are standards of identity or composition for over 300 foods in the Food Regulations in Canada. They are classified within 28 divisions.
For example, Division 13 regulates “Grain and Bakery products”. In this division, the standards of identity and composition for white wheat flour and bread can be found. A fragment of this division is shown below in Box 4.2 (click on the Box to read its contents).
Which grades of eggs are normally found in the retail market? What happens to the other grades?
- Grade A: Eggs pass through candelling to be weighed and sized
- Grade B: Eggs with rough shells and large air cells; sold to cafeterias and other places where appearance is not important
- Grade C: Eggs with cracked shells; not sold on the fresh market but sent to a breaking plant to be separated into various components
- Rejects: Eggs with blood or meat spots; will be used to make animal feed
How is the process of candelling done and what is being assessed?
- A conveyor carries eggs over a table illuminated by a high intensity light
- Allows candler to see defects like rough shells and air pockets
What are the conditions for HTST pasteurization for liquid whole eggs and yolks?
- Whole eggs: 62C for 3.5 minutes
- Yolk: 65C for 3.5 minutes
- Pasteurized products are not sterile; products must be frozen for longer shelf life
Compare Canadian and American definition of food additives.
Describe the dose response curve.
The use level permitted in specified foods was determined considering the following parameters:
- No effect level = the highest level of the chemical which caused no harmful effects in the test animals.
- No effect level for humans = no effect level in animals, divided by a safety factor. For most food additives the safety factor is generally 100.
- Acceptable daily intake = daily dosage of a chemical which during an entire lifetime appears to be without appreciable risk based on all facts known at that time. The acceptable daily intake is expressed as mg intake per kg body weight.
- Without appreciable risk = the practical certainty that injury will not result even after a lifetime of exposure.
- The probable daily intake of a food additive is determined to ensure that this value would not exceed the acceptable daily intake. Food consumption estimates of particular food commodities are used to determine the probable daily intake of the food additive in question. Data from food consumption surveys as well as information from Statistics Canada and the published scientific literature are used to estimate the consumption of particular food items by various groups in Canada (e.g., children, teenagers, the elderly, etc.). If the probable daily intake of the food additive in question were to exceed the acceptable daily intake, the additive would not be approved for use or it would be approved for very restricted use.
