OTTAWA, February 29, 2012: The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) is reminding industry that the enhanced labelling regulations for food allergens come into force on August 4, 2012.
These regulations will help Canadians with food allergies, sensitivities and celiac disease make more informed choices about the foods they buy.
On February 16, 2011, amendments to the Food and Drug Regulations prescribing enhanced labelling requirements for food allergen, gluten sources and sulphites were published in the Canada Gazette, Part II. At that time, the CFIA and Health Canada posted an advisory stating that industry would have 18 months to bring their labels into compliance.
Until the new regulations come into force, products that contain undeclared allergens that are determined to pose a health risk by Health Canada will continue to be subject to current enforcement practices by the CFIA, including product recall.
While not required until the coming into force date, the CFIA and Health Canada are encouraging companies to start using new labels based on the new regulations as soon as possible to provide consumers with important allergy information.
The following guidance information is available to help companies comply with the new allergen labelling regulations:
- Guidance on the New Regulations:
- Guidance on Food Safety Control Systems:
- Guidance on Precautionary Labelling:
