Dietitians of Canada Supports for Stronger Regulations on Allergen Labelling on Packaged Foods

Dietitians of Canada applauds the steps being taken by Health Canada to amend the current Food and Drug Regulations for Enhanced Labelling of Food Allergen, Gluten Sources and Added Sulphites on packaged foods.

25/11/08 Consumers say that the list of ingredients is one of the most helpful elements on food packages to guide their food selection. For individuals with food allergies or food intolerances, that information is not only helpful, but is critical to their health. In fact, if the information on the ingredient list is not accurate, or is incomplete, eating certain foods may be life-threatening. Dietitians of Canada [DC] applauds the steps being taken by Health Canada to amend the current Food and Drug Regulations for Enhanced Labelling of Food Allergen, Gluten Sources and Added Sulphites on packaged foods. As the professional association representing almost 6000 dietitians nation-wide, DC has provided recommendations to the federal government to further strengthen the proposed regulations.

Says Lynda Corby, Director of Public Affairs for DC, "These proposed regulations are very important to registered dietitians in the multiple roles they fulfill as nutrition counselors; clinical practitioners; consultants on nutrition policies in schools, day cares and work place wellness programs; and food service managers in health care facilities. While we are supportive of many of the proposed changes to the regulations, we are advocating for several further improvements as highlighted below."

-Ensure that allergen labelling is legible. Many ingredient lists are given entirely in upper case letters, which make them hard to read. When Health Canada introduced mandatory nutrition labelling they tested the legibility of the Nutrition Facts table extensively. The knowledge gained should be used for the ingredient list and other mandatory information including the Allergen and Food Intolerance Statement.

-Provide educational resources in plain language accessible on the web. When mandatory nutrition labelling was introduced, Health Canada produced resources to assist consumers to understand and apply this information. Dietitians of Canada, in partnership with the Canadian Diabetes Association, developed Healthy Eating is in Store for You at www.healthyeatingisinstore.ca with fact sheets, FAQs, leader's guide and a Virtual Grocery Store as a labelling education strategy. Similar tools and resources will be a key element in helping consumers to interpret allergen labelling.

- Extend sulphite alerts to fresh produce. Fresh grapes and ingredients in fresh salad bars are often treated with sulphites, providing a potential risk to consumers with a sulphite intolerance. DC recommends that where sulphites are added to fresh produce, retail distributors be required to provide an alert of the presence of sulphites in those foods.

- Conduct consumer testing of the wording for a separate labelling statement highlighting "Allergy and Food Intolerance" We support a highly visible clear, standardized statement or symbol that consumers can readily identify on the label when they are looking for allergen labelling. We recommend that the proposed statement be tested with consumers before being finalized.

- Accelerate the time-line to implement precautionary "may contain" allergen labelling. As the allergen labelling regulations under review do not address precautionary allergen labelling, we are urging Health Canada to address this additional key element quickly to more fully enhance the health, safety and quality of life of individuals with food allergies and intolerances.

- Require foods pre-packaged from bulk, and pre-packaged foods prepared on retail premises, to carry an ingredient label. Products packaged from bulk on retail premises usually do come from larger packages that are labelled with a list of ingredients and would be subject to allergen labelling requirements. Making the ingredient list available to consumers could extend their food choices, since in the absence of reliable information, those with life/health-threatening allergies and intolerances must choose to avoid those foods.