Canada Finalizes the Amendments to Certain Regulations on Food Additives, Compositional Standards, Microbial Limits

On December 18 2024, Canada published the final Regulations Amending Certain Regulations Concerning Food Additives and Compositional Standards, Microbiological Criteria and Methods of Analysis for Food (the Regulations) in the Canada Gazette, Part II. The Regulations took effect immediately after its publication, amending the Food and Drug Regulations (FDR) to modernize the frameworks governing food compositional standards, microbiological safety criteria for food, methods of analysis for food, and food additives.

Major Amendments

It streamlines food additive provisions by consolidating them into a revised Division 16 of the FDR and repealing redundant or outdated references and tables.
It incorporates, by reference, the new Table of Food Additive Specifications and the revised Lists of Permitted Food Additives.
It establishes new requirements for the sale and labeling of pre-mixes containing food additives and other ingredients used exclusively in the manufacture or preparation of other foods.

It separates health and safety requirements (e.g., permitted food additives, vitamin and mineral fortification requirements, microbiological criteria, and other microbiological safety standards) from food compositional standards. These requirements still apply to standardized foods but are now managed within distinct regulatory frameworks (e.g., Division 16 for food additives and Division 30 for microbiological criteria) or as stand-alone prohibitions of sale in the FDR.
It incorporates by reference over 300 food compositional standards previously outlined in the FDR (see Canadian Food Compositional Standards).
A summary of changes to compositional standards is available.

It establishes a consolidated framework for microbiological criteria under a new Division 30 of the FDR, incorporating by reference criteria previously outlined in the FDR (see Table of Microbiological Criteria for Food).
Outdated microbiological methods (MFO) are replaced with a requirement to use either a "microbiological reference method" or an "equivalent method," as detailed in two newly referenced documents (see Table of Microbiological Reference Methods for Food and Canadian Requirements for Determining the Equivalency of Food Microbiological Methods of Analysis).

It incorporates by reference chemical, physical, and nutritional methods of analysis (FO) and their associated values into two new documents:
1) FO methods related to compositional requirements for standardized foods are included in the CFIA's Canadian Food Compositional Standards.
2) FO methods linked to health and safety or compositional requirements for unstandardized foods are listed in the Table of Chemical, Physical, and Nutritional Characteristics of Food.
It allows the use of the Protein Digestibility Corrected Amino Acid Score (PDCAAS) method to measure protein quality for certain foods, as added to the Table of Chemical, Physical, and Nutritional Characteristics of Food.

It introduces minor consequential amendments to regulations made under the Cannabis Act, the Excise Act, 2001, the Pest Control Products Act, the Safe Food for Canadians Act, and the Feeds Act.

Title of the document	Lead department
Canadian Food Compositional Standards	CFIA
Table of Microbiological Criteria for Food	Health Canada
Table of Microbiological Reference Methods for Food	Health Canada
Canadian Requirements for Determining the Equivalency of Food Microbiological Methods of Analysis	Health Canada
Table of Chemical, Physical and Nutritional Characteristics of Food	Health Canada
Determination of the Protein Rating Using the Protein Digestibility Corrected Amino Acid Score (PDCAAS)	Health Canada
Table of Food Additive Specifications	Health Canada

Title of the document or notice	Lead department
Modification to the Table of Permitted Nutrient Content Statements and Claims (protein claims and "no added fat") – Reference number: M-ANC-RM-1	Health Canada
Modification to the List of Contaminants and other Adulterating Substances in Foods as part of the modernization of Part B of the Food and Drug Regulations – Reference number: M-CON-RM-1	Health Canada
Modification to the Lists of Permitted Food Additives as part of the modernization of Part B of the Food and Drug Regulations – Reference number: M-FAA-RM-1	Health Canada
List of Permitted Supplemental Ingredients	Health Canada
Nutrition Labelling: Table of Reference Amounts	Health Canada
Common Names for Ingredients and Components	CFIA
The following volumes of the Canadian Standards of Identity: Volume 1 – Dairy products Volume 2 – Processed egg products Volume 3 – Fish Volume 4 – Processed fruit or vegetable products Volume 5 – Honey Volume 7 – Meat products	CFIA