Notice of Modification to the List of Contaminants and Other Adulterating Substances in Foods  to Update the 
Maximum Level for Arsenic in Water in Sealed Containers   
Bureau of Chemical Safety, Food Directorate, Health Products and Food Branch    1 
 
  Notice of Modification to the List of Contaminants and 
Other Adulterating Substances in Foods  to Update the 
Maximum Level for Arsenic in Water in Sealed 
Containers  
 
Notice of Modification – List of Contaminants and Other Adulterating 
Substances in Foods  
Reference Number: [NOM/ADM -C-2017 -1] 
July 20, 2017   
Notice of Modification to the List of Contaminants and Other Adulterating Substances in Foods  to Update the 
Maximum Level for Arsenic in Water in Sealed Containers   
Bureau of Chemical Safety, Food Directorate, Health Products and Food Branch    2 Summary  
Food contaminants and other adulterating substances are chemicals that may be present in foods 
at levels that could impact the overall safety and/or quality of foods. These substances can either 
be inadvertently present in foods or in some cases intentiona lly added for fraudulent purposes. 
Establishing maximum levels (MLs) is a form of risk management that may be employed to 
reduce exposure to a particular chemical contaminant in food sold in Canada. Canadian MLs for 
chemical contaminants in food are set ou t in the List of Contaminants and Other Adulterating 
Substances in Foods , which is incorporated by reference into Section B.15.001 of Division 15 of 
the Food and Drug Regulations , and in the List of Maximum Levels for Various Chemical 
Contaminants in Foods , which has a history of being maintained on Health Canada’s website 
outside of the Food and Drug Regulations . All MLs for contaminants in food are established by 
Heal th Canada and are enforceable by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.  
The List of Contaminants and Other Adulterating Substances in Foods  specifies an ML of 
0.1 parts per million (p.p.m.) for arsenic in water in sealed containers (commonly referred to as 
bottled or prepackaged water) other than mineral or spring water.  
 
Health Canada reviewed this ML and concluded that it would be appropriate to lower the ML to 
0.01 p.p.m. total arsenic in water in sealed containers, extended to apply to all types of bottled 
water, including mineral and spring water, which have a standard  of identity under Division 12 
of the Food and Drug Regulations . 
 
Consequently, Health Canada published a Proposal to Update the Maximum Levels for Arsenic 
in Apple Juice and Water in Sealed Containers in the List of Contaminants a nd Other 
Adulterating Substances in Foods – Reference Number: [NOP/AD P C-2017 -1]. The proposal 
was published on March 1, 2017 and was open to the public for comments for 75 days. No new 
scientific information was submitted to the Department during the comment period in response 
to the portion of this Notice of Proposal pertaining to wa ter in sealed containers. However, a 
number of comments were received in response to Health Canada’s proposal to lower the ML for 
arsenic in apple juice. In order for Health Canada to fully consider the information and 
comments received regarding that prop osal, the Department will only be proceeding with a 
Notice of Modification for a lower ML for water in sealed containers  at this time.  
 
Since the rationale for updating the ML for water in sealed containers remains as described in the 
Notice of Proposal, Health Canada  will be removing reference to “water in sealed containers 
other than mineral water or spring water” from sub -item 1(3) and adding new sub -item 1(4) to 
Part 2 of the List of Contaminants and Other Adulterating Substances in Foods  to reflect a n ML 
of 0.01 p.p.m. total arsenic in water in sealed containers, which includes mineral and spring  
Notice of Modification to the List of Contaminants and Other Adulterating Substances in Foods  to Update the 
Maximum Level for Arsenic in Water in Sealed Containers   
Bureau of Chemical Safety, Food Directorate, Health Products and Food Branch    3 water, as shown in the table below. Two footnotes, shown below, will also be added to Part 2 of 
the List. The existing MLs for these commodities will remain in force until these modifications 
are made on May 14, 2018 .  
Modification to Part 2 of the List of Contaminants and Other Adulterating Substances in 
Foods  
Item 
No. Column 1  
Substance  Column 2  
Food1 Column 3  
Maximum Level2  
1 Arsenic  (4) Water in sealed containers  (4) 0.01 p.p.m.  
 
1 Maximum levels also apply to the food when it is used as an ingredient in other foods.  
 
2 Maximum levels apply to foods on a fresh weight basis. For foods that are dehydrated or 
concentrated, the maximum level applies to the food that is rehydrated or reconstituted to its 
original form or concentration, unless otherwise specified.  
 
Corrective Modification  
Column number identifiers (e.g., “Column 1”) have been added to the column headings of Part 1 
and Part 2 of the List of Contaminants and Other Adulterating Substances in Foods , as illustrated 
in the table above, for consistency with the language used in Division 15 of the Food and Drug 
Regulations to describe the List.  
When the modifications described above are made, the wording “when ready -to-serve” will be 
removed from the “beverages” listing to avoid redundancy with footnote 2 in the List of 
Contaminants and Other Adulterating Substances in Foods . 
Rationale  
As describ ed in the Notice of Proposal, the ML for arsenic in water in sealed containers was 
originally established when there were sources of arsenic contamination in foods that are no 
longer relevant in Canada. Today, arsenic is still present in the environment bu t at lower levels as 
a result of its natural occurrence in rock and soil and release from industrial activities such as 
mining, smelting and ore processing.  
Health Canada’s review of the previous ML supports a lower ML for total arsenic in water in 
sealed containers and indicates that there is no rationale for continuing to exclude mineral water 
and spring water from this ML. Canadian data demonstrate that the new ML is readily 
achievable.   
Notice of Modification to the List of Contaminants and Other Adulterating Substances in Foods  to Update the 
Maximum Level for Arsenic in Water in Sealed Containers   
Bureau of Chemical Safety, Food Directorate, Health Products and Food Branch    4  
The updated ML is more protective of human health relative to the former ML and aligns with 
Health Canada’s commitment to reduce dietary exposure to chemical contaminants in food to 
levels that are as low as reasonably achievable (ALARA principle).  
 
Other Relevant Information  
As described in the Notice of Proposal, the p roposed ML took into consideration the comments 
that were submitted in response to a technical consultation that was conducted by Health Canada 
in 2014. The Summary of Comments and Responses to Health Canada’s Proposed Amendments 
to the Regulatory Tolerances for Arsenic and Lead in a Variety of Beverages  was posted to 
Health Canada’s website in January 2016.  
The lower ML for total arsenic in water in sealed containers aligns with the maximum acceptable 
concentration for arsenic set out in the Guideline for Canadian Drinking Water Quality , the 
Codex ML for total arsenic in natural water ( CODEX STAN 108 -1981 ), the European Union 
ML for total arse nic in bottled water ( Directive 2003/40/EC ), the United States Food and Drug 
Administration’s allowable level for arsenic in bottled water ( 21 CFR §165.110 ) and the World 
Health Organization drinking water quality guideline for arsenic , which was also adopted by the 
Food Standards Australia New Zealand for arsenic in packaged water . 
Notification – Summary of Comments  
In response to Health Canada’s Proposal to Update the Maximum Lev els for Arsenic in Apple 
Juice and Water in Sealed Containers in the List of Contaminants and Other Adulterating 
Substances in Foods  (NOP/AD P-C-2017 -1), published on March 1, 2017, Health Canada 
received comments from one organization regarding water in se aled containers.  These 
comments supported the proposal for the lower ML for total arsenic in all types of water in 
sealed containers.  
With respect to apple juice, a number of comments were received that require further 
consideration by the Department. As such, Health Canada is only proceeding at this time with 
the update to the ML for water in sealed containers.   
Implementation and Enforcement  
The above modification will come into force May 14 , 2018 , the day it is published in the List of 
Contaminants and Other Adulterating Substances in Foods ; this date is  twelve months follo wing 
the close of the Notice of Proposal comment period.  
   
Notice of Modification to the List of Contaminants and Other Adulterating Substances in Foods  to Update the 
Maximum Level for Arsenic in Water in Sealed Containers   
Bureau of Chemical Safety, Food Directorate, Health Products and Food Branch    5 The Canadian Food Inspection Agency is responsible for the enforcement of the food -related 
aspects of the Food and Drugs Act  and its associated regulations.  
Contact Information  
Health Canada's Food Directorate is committed to reviewing any new scientific  information on 
the chemical  safety of foods. Anyone wishing to submit new scientific information relating to 
arsenic in water in sealed containers may do so in writing, by regular mail or electr onically. If 
you wish to contact the Food Directorate electronically, please use the words “ arsenic ML for 
bottled water ” in the subject line of your e -mail.  
 
Bureau of Chemic al Safety  
251 Sir Frederick Banting Driveway  
Tunney’s Pasture, PL: 2202C  
Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0L2  
E-mail to: bcs-bipc@hc -sc.gc.ca