Editor's note: This article tracks and collects the regulatory updates on supplemental ingredients in 2025, as per the latest developments.
In Canada, supplemented foods are defined as conventional foods with added nutrients and/or bioactive substances. These additions, formally termed "supplemental ingredients", are catalogued in the List of Permitted Supplemental Ingredients.
Health Canada issued P-SIS-25-01, proposing to modify the List of Permitted Supplemental Ingredients. This proposed modification aims to change the use of caffeine as a supplemental ingredient. The changes are marked in red below. Stakeholders can send their comments to ipr.aliments@hc-sc.gc.ca by May 21, 2025.
Use Requirements for Caffeine
Permitted in | Maximum Amounts and Units Per Serving of Stated Size | Cautionary Statements Required on the Label | Other |
(1) Non-carbonated water-based beverages, belonging to the category listed in item 1 of the List of Permitted Supplemented Food Categories, excluding those represented a. for physical performance; b. for hydration or electrolyte replacement; c. as flavoured water or flavoured sweetened water | (1) 150 p.p.m. in the beverage (expressed in mg on the label) | (1) None specified | (1) (a) Products require the statement "contains caffeine" on the principal display panel of the label, written with minimum type height of 3.2mm based on the height of lower case letter "x" (b) Products must not: contain, singly or in combination, 25% or more juice, purée, pulp or nectar, as consumed; include the word "juice", "purée", "pulp" or "nectar" on the label other than as required in the list of ingredients |
(2) Foods belonging to the category listed in item 1 of the List of Permitted Supplemented Food Categories, containing added caffeine and a total amount of caffeine from all sources of more than 150 p.p.m., excluding concentrates and those represented a. for physical performance; b. for hydration or electrolyte replacement; c. as flavoured water or flavoured sweetened water | (2) 400 p.p.m. in the beverage (expressed in mg on the label) Beverages as consumed must not contain more than 180 mg
| (2) (a) All products require the cautionary statement: "Not recommended for those under 14 years old, pregnant or breastfeeding women or individuals sensitive to caffeine" (b) If the amount of caffeine declared on the label is more than 79 mg per serving, the following additional cautionary statement is required: "Do not [eat/drink] more than X serving(s) per day", where X is a number of servings that provides an amount of caffeine, based on the amount declared on the label, that does not exceed 400 mg | (2) (a) Products require the statement "high caffeine content" on the label (b) Products must not: i. contain, singly or in combination, 25% or more fruit and/or vegetable juice, purée, pulp or nectar, as consumed; ii. include the word "juice", "purée" "pulp" or "nectar" on the label other than as required in the list of ingredients |
(3) Protein-isolate- and cereal-based bars belonging to the category listed in item 5 of the List of Permitted Supplemented Food Categories | (3) 56 mg | (3) None specified | (3) (a) Servings or portions thereof shall be individually wrapped or sealed (b) Products require the statement "contains caffeine" on the principal display panel of the label, written with minimum type height of 1.6 mm or 3.2 mm based on the height of lower case letter "x", for packages with principal display surface areas of 32 cm2 or ess, or more than 32 cm2 and up to 258 cm2, respectively |
(4) Protein-isolate- and cereal-based bars belonging to the category listed in item 5 of the List of Permitted Supplemented Food Categories containing added caffeine and a total amount of caffeine from all sources of more than 56 mg, excluding those represented for physical performance | (4) 70 mg | (4) (a) All products require the following cautionary statements: i. "Not recommended for those under 14 years old, pregnant or breastfeeding women or individuals sensitive to caffeine"; and ii. "Do not [eat/drink] on the same day as any other source of caffeine" | (4) (a) Servings or portions thereof shall be individually wrapped or sealed (b) Products require the statement "high caffeine content" on the label
|
(5) Chocolate confectioneries, sweet chocolate confectioneries, and milk chocolate confectioneries belonging to the category listed in item 7 of the List of Permitted Supplemented Food Categories | (5) 56 mg | (5) None specified | (5) (a) Servings or portions thereof shall be individually wrapped or sealed (b) The total amount of caffeine in an entire multiple-serving prepackaged product must not exceed 400 mg (c) Products require the statement "contains caffeine" on the principal display panel of the label, written with minimum type height of 1.6 mm or 3.2 mm based on the height of lower case letter "x", for packages with principal display surface areas of 32 cm2 or less, or more than 32 and up to 258 cm2, respectively |
(6) Chocolate confectioneries, sweet chocolate confectioneries, and milk chocolate confectioneries belonging to the category listed in item 7 of the List of Permitted Supplemented Food Categories containing added caffeine and a total amount of caffeine from all sources of more than 56 mg, excluding those represented for physical performance | (6) 100 mg | (6) (a) All products require the following cautionary statements: i. "Not recommended for those under 14 years old, pregnant or breastfeeding women or individuals sensitive to caffeine"; and ii. "Do not [eat/drink] on the same day as any other source of caffeine" (b) If the amount of caffeine declared on the label is, more than 79 mg per serving the following additional cautionary statement is required: "Do not [eat/drink] more than X serving(s) per day", where X is a number of servings that provides a daily amount of caffeine, based on the amount declared on the label, that does not exceed 400 mg | (6) (a) Servings or portions thereof shall be individually wrapped or sealed (b) The total amount of caffeine in an entire multiple-serving prepackaged product must not exceed 400 mg (c) Products require the statement "high caffeine content" on the label |
(7) Foods belonging to the category listed in item 8 of the List of Permitted Supplemented Food Categories | (7) 50 mg | (7) (a) If the amount of caffeine per serving declared on the label multiplied by the total number of servings in a multiple-serving prepackaged product is more than 56 mg, the following cautionary statements are required: i. "Not recommended for those under 14 years old, pregnant or breastfeeding women or individuals sensitive to caffeine"; and ii. "Do not [eat/drink] on the same day as any other source of caffeine" | (7) (a) Servings or portions thereof shall be individually wrapped or sealed (b) The total amount of caffeine in an entire multiple-serving prepackaged product must not exceed 400 mg (c) Products require the statement "contains caffeine" on the principal display panel of the label, written with minimum type height of 1.6 mm or 3.2 mm based on the height of lower case letter "x", for packages with principal display surface areas of 32 cm2 or less, or more than 32 and up to 258 cm2, respectively |
(8) Foods belonging to the category listed in item 6 of the List of Permitted Supplemented Food Categories | (8) 56 mg | (8) None specified | (8) (a) Servings or portions thereof shall be individually wrapped or sealed (b) The total amount of caffeine in an entire multiple-serving prepackaged product must not exceed 400 mg (c) Products require the statement "contains caffeine" on the principal display panel of the label, written with minimum type height of 1.6 mm or 3.2 mm based on the height of lower case letter "x", for packages with principal display surface areas of 32 cm2 or less, or more than 32 and up to 258 cm2, respectively |
(9) Foods belonging to the category listed in item 6 of the List of Permitted Supplemented Food Categories containing added caffeine and a total amount of caffeine from all sources of more than 56 mg, excluding those represented for physical performance | (9) 100 mg | (9) (a) All products require the following cautionary statements: i. "Not recommended for those under 14 years old, pregnant or breastfeeding women or individuals sensitive to caffeine"; and ii. "Do not [eat/drink] on the same day as any other source of caffeine" (b) If the amount of caffeine declared on the label is more than 79 mg per serving, the following additional cautionary statement is required: "Do not [eat/drink] more than X serving(s) per day", where X is a number of servings that provides a daily amount of caffeine, based on the amount declared on the label, that does not exceed 400 mg | (9) (a) Servings or portions thereof shall be individually wrapped or sealed (b) The total amount of caffeine in an entire multiple-serving prepackaged product must not exceed 400 mg (c) Products require the statement "high caffeine content" on the label |