Notice of Modification to the List of Contaminants and Other Adulterating Substances in Foods to Update the 
Maximum Levels for Lead in Fruit Juice, Fruit Nectar and 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 Levels for Lead in Fruit Juice, Fruit 
Nectar and Water in Sealed Containers  
 
Notice of Modification – List of Contaminants and Other Adulterating 
Substances in Foods  
Reference Number: [NOM/ADM -C-2017 -02] 
July 20, 2017   
Notice of Modification to the List of Contaminants and Other Adulterating Substances in Foods to Update the 
Maximum Levels for Lead in Fruit Juice, Fruit Nectar and 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 
Health Canada and are enforceable by the Canadian F ood Inspection Agency.  
The List of Contaminants and Other Adulterating Substances in Foods specifies an ML of 
0.2 parts per million (p.p.m.) for lead in fruit juice, fruit nectar, beverages when ready -to-serve, 
and water in sealed containers (commonly refe rred to as bottled or prepackaged water) other than 
mineral or spring water.  
 
Health Canada conducted a scientific assessment that supports establishing a lower ML for lead 
in fruit juice and fruit nectar of 0.05 ppm and a lower ML for lead in water in sealed containers 
of 0.01 ppm, 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 Lead in 
Fruit J uice, Fruit Nectar and Water in Sealed Containers in the List of Contaminants and Other 
Adulterating Substances in Foods – Reference number: [NOP/ADP C -2017 -2]. The proposal 
was published on March 1, 2017 and was open to the public for comments for 75 days . Although 
comments were provided during the comment period in response to this Notice of Proposal, as 
further described below in the section “Notification – Summary of Comments”, no new scientific 
information was submitted to the Department.  
 
Since the co nclusions of the assessment remain as described in the Notice of Proposal, Health 
Canada will modify sub -item 3(4) and add sub -items 3(7) and 3(8) to Part 2 of the List of 
Contaminants and Other Adulterating Substances in Foods  to reflect the lower MLs for  lead in 
fruit juice, fruit nectar and water in sealed containers, 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 .  
Notice of Modification to the List of Contaminants and Other Adulterating Substances in Foods to Update the 
Maximum Levels for Lead in Fruit Juice, Fruit Nectar and Water in Sealed Containers   
Bureau of Chemical Safety, Food Directorate, Health Products and Food Branch    3 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  
3 Lead  (4) Beverages  (4) 0.2 p.p.m.  
(7) Fruit juice; Fruit nectar  (7) 0.05 p.p.m.   
(8) Water in sealed containers  (8) 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.  
 
The existing ML of 0.2 p.p.m. for lead in “beverages” will remain unchanged in the List of 
Contamin ants and Other Adulterating Substances in Foods . This ML is however scheduled for 
further review  at a later date .  
The wording “when ready -to-serve” will be removed from the “Beverages when ready -to-serve” 
listing to avoid redundancy with footnote 2 in the  List of Contaminants and Other Adulterating 
Substances in Foods . 
Corrective Modifications  
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 Substance s 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.  
Rationale  
As described in the Notice of Proposal, MLs for lead were originally established when there 
were sources of lead contamination in foods that are no longer relevant in Canada. Today, lead is 
still present in the environment but 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 MLs supports a lower ML for lead in fruit juice, fruit 
nectar and water in sealed containers. Canadian data demonstrate that the lower MLs for lead in 
fruit juice and fruit nect ar as well as all types of water in sealed containers are readily achievable.   
Notice of Modification to the List of Contaminants and Other Adulterating Substances in Foods to Update the 
Maximum Levels for Lead in Fruit Juice, Fruit Nectar and Water in Sealed Containers   
Bureau of Chemical Safety, Food Directorate, Health Products and Food Branch    4 The updated MLs are more protective of human health relative to the former MLs and align with 
the Food Directorate of Health Canada’s approach to managing dietary exposure to lead , which 
aims to reduce dietary exposure to levels that are as low as reasonably achievable (ALARA 
principle), as well as Health Canada’s Risk Management Strategy for Lead  that recommends 
reducing exposure to lead from all sources.  
Other Relevant Information  
As described in the Notice of Proposal, the propo sed MLs took into consideration the comments 
that were submitted in response to a technical consultation that was conducted by Health Canada 
in 2014.  The Summar y 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 lead fruit juice and fruit nectar aligns with the ML established by the 
European Union ( EC No. 1881/2006 ) and with guidance published by the United States Food 
and Drug Administration ( Juice HACCP Hazards and Controls Guidance ). 
In 2015, the Codex Alimentarius Commission lowered its ML for lead in fruit juices and fruit 
nectars when ready -to-drink, except those from berries and other small fruits, from 0.05 ppm to 
0.03 ppm ( CODEX STAN 193 -1995 ). While the updated Canadian ML for lead in fruit juice and 
fruit nectar aligns with the former Codex ML, Health Canada will consider aligning with the 
Codex ML once the Codex Committee on Contamina nts in Food finalizes its review of the ML 
for fruit juice from berries and other small fruits.  
The lower ML for lead in water in sealed containers aligns with the maximum acceptable 
concentration for lead set out in the Guideline for Canadian Drinking Water Quality , the Codex 
ML for lead in natural mineral water ( CODEX STAN 108 -1981 ), the European Union ML for 
lead in b ottled water ( Directive 2003/40/EC ) and the World Health Organiz ation drinking water 
quality guideline for lead , which was also adopted by the Food Standards Australia New Zealand 
for lead in packaged water . The United States Food and Drug Administratio n’s allowable level 
for lead in bottled water is 0.005 ppm ( 21 CFR §165.110 ). 
Notification – Summary of Comments  
In response to  Health Canada’s Proposal to Update the Maximum Levels for Lead in Fruit Juice, 
Fruit Nectar and Water in Sealed Containers in the  List of Contaminants and Other Adulterating 
Substances in Foods (NOP/AD P-C-2017 -2), published on March 1, 2017, Health Canada 
received comments from two organizations. One organiza tion supported the proposal and the  
Notice of Modification to the List of Contaminants and Other Adulterating Substances in Foods to Update the 
Maximum Levels for Lead in Fruit Juice, Fruit Nectar and Water in Sealed Containers   
Bureau of Chemical Safety, Food Directorate, Health Products and Food Branch    5 other requested an explanation regarding the products to which the ML for lead in fruit juice 
would apply; Health Canada provided written clarification to this question.   
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 F oods ; this date is  twelve months following 
the close of the Notice of Proposal comment period.  
 
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 
lead in fruit juice, fruit nectar and/or water in  sealed containers may do so in writing, by regular 
mail or electronically. If you wish to contact the Food Directorate electronically, please use the 
words “ lead MLs for fruit juice and bottled water ” in the subject line of your e -mail.  
 
Bureau of Chemical Safety  
251 Sir Frederick Banting Driveway  
Tunney’s Pasture, PL: 2202C  
Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0L2  
E-mail to: bcs-bipc@hc -sc.gc.ca