Canada introduces regulations to accelerate food additive approval

Health Canada, the department responsible for safeguarding public health in Canada, has introduced new regulations, updating its 50-year-old rules in order to accelerate the authorisation of food additives and boost safety.

Under the previous regulations, even if scientists demonstrated that a food additive could lower the risk of a serious food-borne illness outbreak, it took about 12 to 18 months to update the department’s approved food additive list and make the product legal.

While the new system does not change the safety assessment performed by the scientists, it enables the department to speed up the authorisation process of food additives, or respond quickly to concerns about an existing additive.

Once the scientific evaluation of new food additives is completed, the new system is expected to eliminate the additional time required to update the list.

The new process is significantly faster because once the food additive is authorised, instead of changing the rules, the department only has to update the list on the Health Canada website in order to allow its use in Canada.

In addition, the process will also accelerate the time required to authorise the extended use of an already approved food additive.

Minister of Health Leona Aglukkaq said these changes reflect the government’s commitment to protecting the health and safety of Canadian consumers and their families.

"By making these common sense changes, we are helping safer foods get on to store shelves more quickly," Aglukkaq added.

Health Canada noted that, moving forward, its website will specify the additives that are considered legal for use in Canada, and any limits on their use will be clearly documented.