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David Stobbe / Postmedia News archives Prof. Susan Whiting applauds a regulatory change affecting food and drinks listed as natural health products that contain elevated levels of added vitamins.
OTTAWA -- Food and drinks boosted with high levels of certain vitamins and minerals must be reformulated to stay on store shelves as Health Canada moves to close a loophole that has permitted fortified snacks and beverages to be sold as natural health products.
In a letter to the food industry this week, Health Canada said it is no longer accepting natural-health-product (NHP) applications for products that are "represented, packaged and sold as foods." And by the end of December, the department expects to complete the transition of 1,000 products to the food regulatory framework.
They include juices, vitamin waters, sports drinks and teas, as well as energy bars, chocolates bars, puddings, yogurts and cereals.
Health Canada's director general of the food directorate said products flagged with safety concerns or determined "not safe for their consumption as foods" will be required to reduce the elevated levels of "high-risk" vitamins or minerals, such as vitamin A in retinol form, to stay on the market.
The level of folic acid in some products will also likely have to be reduced because "we already have a satisfactory intake of this nutrient" in our diet, said Samuel Godefroy.
"The principle of safety is paramount," he said.
The early reviews from public-health advocates, who said this looks like a win for consumers, are positive.
The industry group Food & Consumer Products of Canada also said it's "pleased that manufacturers have clear direction, based on sound science, from Health Canada on their next steps in transitioning these products."
The issue dates back to 2005, when Health Canada settled on a plan to give the food and beverage industries discretion to boost products, including junk food, with extra nutrients, under general rules that would have taken into account the overall integrity and safety of the food supply.
Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq shelved the initiative in 2009 after public-health advocates attacked the idea of allowing junk food to be fortified.
By then, companies had already found what they called a "workaround" to get novel foods boosted with vitamins and minerals to market -- by classifying them as natural health products. With a huge backlog in licence applications for natural health products, Health Canada allowed products on the market while they were in the queue waiting for an NHP licence.
The number of "food-like" products on the NHP wait-list -- and available for sale in Canada -- has doubled to about 1,000 today from about 500 in 2009.
Fifty-three "food-like" products have been granted NHP licences over the years.
Products that currently comply with Canada's food regulations will be required to add a Nutrition Facts Table on the back panel of food packages, mandatory for all products regulated as a food.
Godefroy couldn't say how many products will have to be reformulated, but any product, for example, containing Health Canada's daily tolerable upper intake level of vitamin A for adults will need to be reformulated.
That maximum, well above Health Canada's recommended daily intake, was established after evidence showed consuming more of vitamin A in retinol form may cause liver abnormalities and, if consumed by pregnant women, birth defects.
Until recently, Coca-Cola's FUZE Vitalize beverage, sold as a natural health product that will now be transitioned to the food regulations, contained the tolerable upper intake level. The company drastically reduced the amount of vitamin A in the fruit drink last fall after University of Saskatchewan professor of nutrition Susan Whiting and others complained the elevated level could pose a health risk.
Pointing out the original FUZE drink "could never have happened" under the food regulations, Whiting said Health Canada's transition plan looks good because it "forces a company to justify what they're adding."
-- Postmedia News
Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition April 20, 2012 B4
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