New Label Rules In Canada

[num1habsfan]

I finall found where to buy the Allergic Living magazine and there was an article in there...

Labels To Show All Top Allergens

New regulations governing food labeling of allergens in Canada have been off-delayed, but Health Canada finally has good news on that file.

The department has announced interim guidelines to food manufacturers that end exemptions for undeclared, "hidden ingredients" in packaged foods. So when a seasoning, flour, or margarine is an ingredient of a packaged food's ingredients and contains a priority allergen - that allergen will now need to be named on the label. Similarly, previously vague ingredients such as "hydrolyzed protein" or "natural flavour" will now have to specify if they contain top allergens. (The priority allergens are: peanut, tree nut, milk, egg, soy, wheat, fish, shellfish, sesame and sulphites.)

Samuel Benrejeb Godefroy, director of the bureau of chemical safety for Health Canada's Food Directorate, announced the interim guidelines at the Governors' Foundation's International Conference on Food Allergies in Montreal on November 2. "There shouldn't be any hidden sources of priority allergens," he then told Allergic Living. "If somebody puts an ingredient label on a food, it had better be accurate for priority allergens."

Benrejeb Godefroy sees the interim guidelines as an effective tool: "We don't want to be managing by recalls. What we want is to create predictability in the system." Health Canada is also working to update its policy on "may contain" statements on packages, which have become ubiquitous, varied and confusing to consumers.

For one much antipated change - the issue of spelling out priority allergens in plain English or French (e.g. "milk" rather than "casein) - consumers will still have to wait for the new regulations

~ Lisa ~

[blueeyedmanda]

:)

I am in the US but I am happy for you guys :)

[num1habsfan]

:)

I am in the US but I am happy for you guys :)

Thanks amanda! It will be such a relief that if someone asks "can you eat this" and i read "natural flavour" or whatever I dont have to say no because of not knowing whats in it!!

~ Lisa ~

[ravenwoodglass]

It is certainly a step in the right direction. I would be really overjoyed if they addressed gluten and not just wheat. It looks like they will still be able to hide barley if they choose to, one of the most commonly snuck in offenders.

[Michi8]

These laws need to address gluten as well. You'll still be out of luck with hidden barley, rye, oats and related gluten grains.

Michelle

[num1habsfan]

Yeah, i wish they would just change it to gluten. But it's still a help......if I see warnings about "wheat" on something that should be gluten-free or appears to me, I ignore it. It's better to at least list wheat than not have ANY gluten. Since wheat is clearly the most typical thing added into everything.

~ Lisa ~

[2Boys4Me]

Thanks amanda! It will be such a relief that if someone asks "can you eat this" and i read "natural flavour" or whatever I dont have to say no because of not knowing whats in it!!

~ Lisa ~

Lisa - I disagree. I think that "natural flavours" is the biggest red flag on a list of ingredients. I have called many companies about "natural flavour" and it's always been barley/malt flavouring. I will continue to call when I see natural flavour on the list and I think because you are so senstive that you should be very careful still. We need Health Canada (and Tony Clement) to get going with having "gluten" considered a top allergen, not just wheat.

I guess what I mean to say is that if there is no wheat, but there is natural flavour...call anyway or don't eat it.

[num1habsfan]

I guess what I mean to say is that if there is no wheat, but there is natural flavour...call anyway or don't eat it.

That is what I said, guess just worded it a non-proper way . I said that instead of saying no because its a "natural flavour", I can say no because that "natural flavour" will now list wheat and have an excuse

~ Lisa ~