G/TBT/N/CAN/451  
 
19 June 2015  
(15-3196)  Page: 1/2  
Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade  Original: English/French  
 
  NOTIFICATION 
The following notification is being circulated in accordance with Article 10.6 
 
1. Notifying Member: CANADA 
If applicable, name of local government involved (Article 3.2 and 7.2):  
2. Agency responsible: Department of Health 
Name and address (including telephon e and fax numbers, email and website 
addresses, if available) of agency or authority designated to handle comments 
regarding the notification shall be indicated if different from above : 
Canada's Notification Authority and Enquiry Point 
Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Canada 
Technical Barriers and Regulations Division (TIB) 111 Sussex Drive Ottawa, ON K1A 0G2 
Canada 
Telephone: (343)203-4273 Fax: (613)943-0346 
Email: enquirypoint@international.gc.ca  
3. Notified under Article 2.9.2 [X], 2.10 .1 [ ], 5.6.2 [ ], 5.7.1 [ ], other: 
4. Products covered (HS or CCCN where applic able, otherwise national tariff heading. 
ICS numbers may be provided in addition, where applicable): All prepackaged 
products sold in Canada (ICS: 67.040, 67.230) 
5. Title, number of pages and language(s) of the notified document: Amendments to 
the Food and Drug Regulations – Nutrition Labelling, Other Labelling Provisions, and Food 
Colours (74 pages, in English and French) 
6. Description of content: The Government of Canada is proposing to update the nutrition 
labelling regulations of the Food and Drug Regulations (FDR, or the Regulations) aimed to 
improve the ability of Canadians to make informed choices about the food they consume to maintain or improve their health. The current FDR set out requirements for most 
prepackaged products to carry a Nutrition Facts table (NFt) in a consistent format, with 
regulated, science-based content. The Regulations also require prepackaged products with more than one ingredient to declare their ingredients and components in a list of 
ingredients that is clear and prominently displayed on the label. Finally, the Regulations 
set out the specifications for food colours and the certification of synthetic food colours. 
The regulatory proposal consists of amendm ents to the FDR which will update current 
nutrition labelling provisions; introduce new requirements, particularly related to serving 
size, sugar labelling, and the ingredient list legibility; expand the use of health claims for 
fruits and vegetables; and better align the degr ee of regulatory oversight requirements for 
food colours with other food additives.  G/TBT/N/CAN/451 
 
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  7. Objective and rationale, including the nature of urgent problems where 
applicable: The regulatory amendments to the FDR related to nutrition labelling are 
intended to improve the ability for Canadians to make informed choices about the food 
they consume in order to maintain or improve their health. Specifically, the proposed 
amendments aim to:  
 modernize and improve food labelling to reflect the latest science (e.g., updates to 
the Daily Values (DV) for nutrients to be based on the most recent dietary 
recommendations), and to enable Canadians to make informed choices about their food in order to maintain or improve their health; 
 introduce new requirements such as: mandating how serving sizes are determined 
for multiple-serving packages, requiring a footnote at the bottom of the NFt explaining the % DV, requiring a % DV for sugars, grouping sugars-based ingredients between parentheses under the name "sugars" in the list of 
ingredients, and improving legibility in the list of ingredients; 
 expand the use of health claims for fruits and vegetables to allow a disease 
reduction health claim linking their consumption to a reduction in heart disease; 
 allow for approved nutrient content and health claims to be made on prepackaged 
fresh fruits and vegetables without additional labelling requirements; 
 remove the requirement for certification prior to the sale of each individual lot of 
synthetic food colours; and 
 allow for the application of internationally accepted food-grade specifications for 
food colours. 
8. Relevant documents: Canada Gazette,  Part I consultation on proposed food label 
changes: http://www.healthycanadians.gc. ca/health-system-systeme-
sante/consultations/food-label-etiquette-des-aliments/process-processus-
eng.php?_ga=1.80385042.447539027.1430925895  
9. Proposed date of adoption: Not stated 
Proposed date of entry into force: These Regulations come into force five years after the 
day on which they are published in the Canada Gazette, Part II 
10. Final date for comments: 75 days after publication in Canada Gazette, Part I 
11. Texts available from: Nati onal enquiry point [X] or address, telephone and fax 
numbers and email and website addresses, if available, of other body:  
The electronic version of the regulatory text can be downloaded at: 
http://www.gazette.gc.c a/rp-pr/p1/2015/2015-06 -13/html/reg1-eng.php   
http://www.gazette.gc.c a/rp-pr/p1/2015/2015-06 -13/html/reg1-fra.php   
http://www.gazette.gc.c a/rp-pr/p1/2015/2015-06 -13/pdf/g1-14924.pdf