Notice of Modification to the List of Permitted Preservatives  to Enable the Use of  
Propionic Acid  and Sodium Propionate as Preservatives in Ready -to-Eat Meat Products  
and Ready -to-Eat Poultry Meat Products   
Bureau of Chemical Safety, Food Directorate, Health Products and Food Branch    1 
  
Notice of Modification to the List of Permitted 
Preservatives  to Enable the Use of Propionic Acid 
and Sodium Propionate  as Preservatives in 
Ready -to-Eat Meat Products and Ready -to-Eat 
Poultry Meat Products  
 
Notice of Modification  – Lists of Permitted Food Additives  
Reference Number: NOM/ADM-0112 
April 4, 2018  
Notice of Modification to the List of Permitted Preservatives  to Enable the Use of  
Propionic Acid  and Sodium Propionate as Preservatives in Ready -to-Eat Meat Products  
and Ready -to-Eat Poultry Meat Products   
Bureau of Chemical Safety, Food Directorate, Health Products and Food Branch    2 Summary  
 
Food additives are regulated in Canada under Marketing Authorizations  (MAs) issued by the 
Minister of Health and the Food and Drug Regulations  (Regulations) .  Approved food additives 
and their permitted conditions of use are set out in the Lists of Permitted Food Additives  that are 
incorporated by reference in the MAs and published on the Canada.ca  website.  A petitioner can 
request that Health Canada approve a new additive or a new condition of use for an already 
approved food additive by filing a f ood additive submission with the Department's Food 
Directorate.  Health Canada uses this premarket approval process to determine whether the 
scientific data support the safety of food additives when used under specified conditions in foods 
sold in Canada.  
 
Health Canada received a food additive submission seeking approval for the use of propionic 
acid and sodium propionate  as preservatives in ready -to-eat (RTE) meat products and RTE 
poultry meat products  to control the growth of the pathogen Listeria monocytogenes  in these 
foods . The requested maximum level of use for each additive is 2 ,500 parts per million ( p.p.m.), 
singly or in combination, calculated as propionic acid .  
 
Ready-to-eat meat products and RTE poultry meat products are subject to standards set out in 
Divisions 14 and 22, respectively, of the Regulations. The relevant standards  are prepared meat 
or prepared meat by -product (section B.14.005), preserved meat or preserved meat by -product 
(section B.14.031), sausage or sausage meat ( section B.14.032), prepared poultry meat or 
prepared poultry meat by -product ( section B.22.006), and preserved poultry meat or preserved 
poultry meat by -product ( section B.22.021) .  
 
The antimicrobial  (Class II) preservatives  that are permitted in these standardized foods are 
identified in Part 2 of the List of Permitted Preservatives . Although p ropionic acid and sodium 
propionate were already  permitted for use as antifungal (Class III) preservatives in certain other 
foods , they have not  previously been authorized for use in RTE meat products or RTE poultry 
meat products .   
 
The Food Directorate determined that information related to the safety of these preservatives 
supports extending their use to  RTE  prepared or preserved meat or poultry meat products . 
Therefore, Health Canada has enabled their use in these foods by adding t he entries shown in the 
table below to  Part 2 of the List of Permitted Preservatives . 
 
Modification to Part 2 of the List of Permitted Preservatives  
 
Item 
No. Column 1  
Additive  Column 2  
Permitted in or Upon Column 3  
Maximum Level of Use and 
Other Conditions  
P.4.1  Propionic 
acid Ready-to-eat prepared meat 
(Division 14); Ready -to-eat 2,500 p.p.m. If used in 
combination with sodium  
Notice of Modification to the List of Permitted Preservatives  to Enable the Use of  
Propionic Acid  and Sodium Propionate as Preservatives in Ready -to-Eat Meat Products  
and Ready -to-Eat Poultry Meat Products   
Bureau of Chemical Safety, Food Directorate, Health Products and Food Branch    3 Item 
No. Column 1  
Additive  Column 2  
Permitted in or Upon Column 3  
Maximum Level of Use and 
Other Conditions  
prepared meat by -product; 
Ready -to-eat prepared poultry 
meat; Ready -to-eat prepared 
poultry meat by -product; Ready -
to-eat preserved meat (Division 
14); Ready -to-eat preserved meat 
by-product; Ready -to-eat 
preserved poultry meat; Ready -
to-eat preserved poul try meat by -
product; Wieners  propionate, the total not to exceed 
2,500 p.p.m . calculated as 
propionic acid 
S.3.1  Sodium 
propionate  Same foods as listed in Part 2 of 
this List for Propionic Acid  2,500 p.p.m. calculated as 
propionic acid. If used in 
combination with propionic acid, 
the total not to exceed 2 ,500 
p.p.m . calculated as propionic 
acid 
 
 
Rationale  
 
Health Canada’s F ood Directorate completed a pre market safety assessment of the requested 
uses of propionic acid and sodium propionate .  The assessment  did not identify any chemical, 
microbiological, nutritional, or toxicological food safety concerns .  Therefore, the Department 
has enabled the requested  uses of propionic acid and sodium propionate  by adding the entries 
shown in the above table to  Part 2 of the List of Permitted Preservatives . 
 
Other Relevant Information  
 
The Food and Drug Regulations  require that food additives such as propionic acid and sodium 
propionate that do not have food -grade specifications set out in Part B of the Regulations meet 
the mo st recent food -grade specifications set out in the Food Chemicals Codex  or the Combined 
Compendium of Food Additive Specifications .  The Food Chemicals Codex  is a compendium of 
standards for purity and identity for food ingredients, including food additive s, published by the 
United States Pharmacopeial Convention .  The Combined Compendium of Food Additive 
Specifications , which contains specifications prepared by the Joint FAO/WHO Expert 
Committee on Food Additives (JECFA) , is published by the Food and Agric ulture Organization 
of the United Nations.  
 
Implementation and Enforcement  
  
Notice of Modification to the List of Permitted Preservatives  to Enable the Use of  
Propionic Acid  and Sodium Propionate as Preservatives in Ready -to-Eat Meat Products  
and Ready -to-Eat Poultry Meat Products   
Bureau of Chemical Safety, Food Directorate, Health Products and Food Branch    4 The above modification came into force April 4, 2018 , the day it was published in Part 2 of the 
List of Permitted Preservatives . 
 
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency is responsible for the enforcement of the Food and Drugs 
Act and its associated regulations with respect to foods.  
 
Contact Information  
 
Health Canada's Food Directorate is committed to reviewing any new scientific information on 
the safety in use of any food additive, including propionic acid and sodium propionate .  Anyone 
wishing to submit new scientific information on the use of these additives or to submit any 
inquiries may do so in writing, by regular mail or electronically.   If you wish to contact the Food 
Directorate electronically, pleas e use the words " propionic acid and sodium propionate  
(NOM -0112)" in the subject line of your e -mail.  
 
Bureau of Chemical Safety, Food Directorate  
251 Sir Frederick Banting Driveway  
Tunney’s Pasture, PL: 2202C  
Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0L2  
E-mail: bcs-bipc@hc -sc.gc.ca