Health Canada announces new regulations for supplemented foods

Ottawa – Health Canada has announced new regulations for supplemented foods.

Supplemented foods are pre-packaged foods containing one or more added ingredients, such as vitamins, mineral nutrients, amino acids, caffeine or herbal extracts. Examples of supplemented foods include beverages with added minerals, caffeinated energy drinks, and snack bars with added vitamins.

Scientific studies have shown that the ingredients added to supplemented foods can be harmful if consumed by vulnerable populations, such as children or pregnant people or if overconsumed by the general population, Health Canada said in a news release.

Under the new regulations, all supplemented foods will have a standardized Supplemented Food Facts table, which includes information on the amount of each supplemental ingredient added. This table is similar to the Nutrition Facts table that currently helps inform Canadians’ food choices.

Supplemented foods that contain specific ingredients will also require labels to provide information for consumers on the cautions and directions for use related to the supplemented food to see if it is appropriate for them.

To reduce potential health risks, the new regulations also impose strict compositional limits and conditions of use, as well as limits on the types of foods that can be supplemented. For example, a food like bread, which is already fortified for public health would not be considered an appropriate food category to be supplemented.

The regulations will also maintain the prohibition on the use of supplemented foods as ingredients or as constituents of ingredients to produce edible cannabis.

Prior to these regulations, manufacturers and distributors had to obtain a Temporary Marketing Authorization (TMA) from Health Canada to sell a supplemented food.

Supplemented foods that are already on the market with a TMA or for which a company has submitted an application for a TMA before July 21, 2022 that is subsequently approved by Health Canada will have until Jan. 1, 2026, to comply with these new regulations. New supplemented foods will need to comply immediately.