Industry Labelling Tool updates regarding the December 14, 2016 amendments to the Food and Drug Regulations

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) has updated the Industry Labelling Tool (ILT) (http://www.inspection.gc.ca/food/labelling/food-labelling-for-industry/eng/1383607266489/1383607344939) to reflect the December 14, 2016 amendments to the ”Food and Drug Regulations” (FDR) related to nutrition labelling, list of ingredients and food colour requirements (https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/news/2016/12/government-canada-finalizes-changes-nutrition-facts-table-list-ingredients-packaged-foods.html).

A Notice to Industry (http://www.inspection.gc.ca/food/labelling/food-labelling-for-industry/amendments/2016-12-14/eng/1481726710075/1481726780595) has been posted on the CFIA website to provide further information on the changes.

Regulated parties currently have a five (5) year transition period ending on December 14, 2021* to meet the new requirements. During this transition period, there are two versions of the ILT; the current version reflects the new regulatory requirements, while the former version reflects the former requirements.

The implementation plan (http://www.inspection.gc.ca/food/labelling/food-labelling-for-industry/amendments/implementation-plan/eng/1481234881374/1481234946761) for the transition period that was developed by Health Canada and the CFIA has been updated for the beginning of the second phase of the plan. This phase will be initiated on May 14, 2018, at which point the role of responding to inquiries on the new requirements transitions from Health Canada to the CFIA.

*Note: It is currently being proposed that the transition period be extended to December 14, 2022. Additional information will be provided at a later date.