. /.  WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  G/SPS/N/CAN/198 
23 March 2004 
 (04-1293) 
Committee on Sanitary a nd Phytosanitary Measures Original:   English/ 
 French 
 
 
 
NOTIFICATION  
 
1. Member to Agreement notifying:   CANADA  
If applicable, name of local government involved: 
2. Agency responsible:   Department of Health 
3. Products covered (provide tariff item numbe r(s) as specified in national schedules 
deposited with the WTO; ICS numbers should be provided in addition, where 
applicable):  Erythritol (ICS: 67.220.20) 
4. Regions or countries likely to be affected, to the extent relevant or practicable:  Not 
stated. 
5. Title, language and number of pages of the notified document:   Proposed Amendment to 
the Food and Drug Regulations (1242 – Erythritol)  (available in English and French, pages 
618-620) 
6. Description of content:  Health Canada has received a submission to permit the use of a new 
sugar alcohol, erythritol, as a carrier for intens e sweeteners in table-top sweeteners and as a 
sweetener in dietetic beverages, fat-based cr eam fillings and toppings, dietetic cookies and 
wafers, soft and hard candies, and chewing gum at various maxi mum levels of use specified 
in the proposed amendments.  Evaluation of  available data suppor ts the safety and 
effectiveness of these uses of erythritol.  Simila r applications of this food additive are already 
permitted in the United States, Japan and Australia. 
Under the current Regulations, all food products  containing permitted sugar alcohols and/or 
polydextrose must provide information on the la bel to indicate the total content of these 
substances in the food expressed in grams pe r serving of stated si ze.  The proposed new 
section B.01.021 describes the labelling requireme nts for erythritol that would apply to 
products whose label does not carry a Nutrition Facts table.  It should be noted that in this 
case, as required by the curre nt Regulations, the statement of the amount of polydextrose 
added to the product must be grouped togeth er with the statement for sugar alcohols. 
In the case of products whose label carries a Nutrition Facts table,  subsection B.01.402(6) 
and item 12 of the table to section B.01.402 of  the Regulations require that the Nutrition 
Facts table show the amount of  sugar alcohols, including erythr itol, added to the product.  
The declaration of polydextrose is not included in the Nutrition Facts table and must be made 
separately in accordance with the regul atory requirements for nutrition labelling. 
Therefore, it is proposed to amend the Regula tions to permit the use of erythritol in the 
above-named foods at the specif ied maximum levels o use and to  require that the label of a 
food product containing erythritol indicate the am ount of erythritol added to the product 
expressed in grams per se rving of stated size. 
This document has also been not ified under the TBT Agreement. G/SPS/N/CAN/198 
Page 2  
 
 7. Objective and rationale:  [ X ] food safety, [   ] animal health, [   ] plant protection, 
[  ] protect humans from animal/plant pest or disease,  [   ]  protect territory from other 
damage from pests 
8. International standard, guideline or recommendation:  
[   ] Codex Alimentarius Commission, [   ] World Organization for Animal Health 
(OIE), [   ] International Plant Protection Convention, [ X ] None  
If an international standard, guideline or recommendation exists, give the appropriate 
reference and briefly identify deviations:  
9. Relevant documents and language(s ) in which these are available:  Canada Gazette, 
Part I, 13 March 2004 (availab le in English and French) 
10. Proposed date of adoption:   Normally within 5 to 8 months of publication in the Canada 
Gazette, Part I. 
11. Proposed date of entry into force:   On the date the measure is adopted. 
12. Final date for comments:  3 June 2004 
Agency or authority designated to handle comments:  [   ] National notification 
authority, [ X ] National enquiry point, or  address, fax number and E-mail address (if 
available) of other body:    
13. Texts available from:  [   ] National notificati on authority, [ X ] National enquiry point, 
or address, fax number and E-mail address (if available) of other body:  
The electronic version of the regulat ory text can be downloaded at: 
http://canadagazette.gc.ca/ partI/2004/20040313/pdf/g1-13811.pdf