. /.   WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  G/SPS/N/CAN/373 
23 December 2008  
 (08-6264) 
Committee on Sanitary a nd Phytosanitary Measures Original:   English/ 
 French 
 
 
 
NOTIFICATION  
 
1. Notifying Member:  CANADA  
If applicable, name of local government involved:    
2. Agency responsible:  Health Canada 
3. Products covered (provide tariff item number(s) as specified in national schedules 
deposited with the WTO; ICS numbers should be provided in addition, where 
applicable):  Canned pears, canned pineapple, canne d apples, canned potatoes and canned 
salsifies (ICS Codes 67.080, 67.220) 
4. Regions or countries likely to be affected, to the extent relevant or practicable: 
[ X ] All trading partners, or 
[   ] Specific regions or countries:    
5. Title of the notified document:  Interim Marketing Authorization regarding the use of 
ascorbic acid as a preservative in canned pears, canned pineapple, canned apples, canned potatoes and canned salsifies  Language:  English and French  Number of pages:  2 
6. Description of content:  Health Canada has received submissions to permit the use of 
ascorbic acid as a preservative in canned pears, canned pineapple, canned apples, canned potatoes and canned salsifies at levels cons istent with good manufacturing practice.  
Evaluation of available data supports the saf ety and effectiveness of ascorbic acid as a 
preservative in the production of these food products. 
Therefore, it is the intention of Health Canada to recommend that the Food and Drug 
Regulations be amended to permit the use of ascorbic acid as a preservative in the 
production of the foods mentioned above at levels consistent with good manufacturing 
practice. 
As a means to improve the responsiveness of the regulatory system, an Interim Marketing 
Authorization (IMA) is being issued to perm it the immediate use of ascorbic acid in the 
production of canned pears, canned pineapple,  canned apples, canned potatoes and canned 
salsifies at levels consistent with good ma nufacturing practice, while the regulatory process 
is undertaken to amend the Regulations. 
The proposed regulatory amendments would be  enabling measures to allow the sale of 
additional foods containing ascorbic acid as a preservative. The amendments are supported 
by the safety assessment and would have low impact on the economy and the environment. Consequently, the regulatory amendments ma y proceed directly to final approval and 
publication in the Canada Gazette , Part II. G/SPS/N/CAN/373 
Page 2  
 
  7. Objective and rationale:  [ X ] food safety, [   ] animal health, [   ] plant protection, 
[ X ] protect humans from animal/plant pest or disease, [   ] protect territory from other damage from pests.    
8. Is there a relevant international stan dard?  If so, identify the standard:  
[   ] Codex Alimentarius Commission (e.g.  title or serial number of Codex standard 
or related text)    
[   ] World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) (e.g. Terrestrial or Aquatic 
Animal Health Code, chapter number)     
[   ] International Plant Protection Convention (e.g.  ISPM N°)     
[ X ] None Does this proposed regulation conform to the relevant international standard?   
 [   ] Yes   [ X ] No 
 If no, describe, whenever possible, how and why it deviates from the 
international standard:    
9. Other relevant documents and language (s) in which these are available:  Canada 
Gazette , Part I, 13 December 2008, Pages 3124-3 125 (available in English and French) 
10. Proposed date of adoption (dd/mm/yy) :  Immediate for this IMA.  For the final 
regulation, normally within 12-18 months  of publication of the Notice of Interim 
Marketing Authorization in the Canada Gazette , Part I, 13 December 2008. 
Propose date of publication ( dd/mm/yy) :    
11. Proposed date of entry into force:  [   ] Six months from date of publication , and/or  
(dd/mm/yy) :  Immediate for this IMA.  For the final regulation, normally within 12-18 
months of publication of the Notice of Interim Marketing Authorization in the Canada 
Gazette , Part I, 13 December 2008. 
[   ] Trade facilitating measure  
12. Final date for comments: [   ] Sixty days from the date of circulation of the 
notification and/or ( dd/mm/yy ):  26 February 2009 
Agency or authority designated to handle comments:  [   ] National Notification 
Authority, [ X ] National Enquiry Point.  Address, fax number and E-mail address (if available) of other body:     
13. Texts available from:  [   ] National Notification Authority, [ X ] National Enquiry 
Point.  Address, fax number and E-mail address (if available) of other body:    
The electronic version of the regulatory text can be downloaded at:  
http://canadagazette.gc.ca/partI/2008/20081213/pdf/g1-14250.pdf   (Canada Gazette ) 
or http://canadagazette.gc.ca/partI/2008/20081213/html/notice-e.html#d106
 (English) 
http://canadagazette.gc.ca/partI/2008/20081213/html/notice-f.html  (French)