Helping Canadians to Live Healthier, Safer Lives

Help on accessing alternative formats, such as Portable Document Format (PDF), Microsoft Word and PowerPoint (PPT) files, can be obtained in the alternate format help section.

Sound nutrition, safe and effective health products and health care can save lives, prevent disease, and greatly improve quality of life. The Health Products and Food Branch (HPFB) helps Canadians to maintain and improve their health by providing access to safe, high quality food, human and veterinary drugs, medical devices, and other health products.

Our role

As Canada's federal authority responsible for the regulation of health products and food, the Health Products and Food Branch evaluates and monitors the safety, quality and effectiveness of the thousands of drugs, vaccines, medical devices, natural health products and other therapeutic products available to Canadians, as well as the safety and quality of the foods they eat. The Branch's mandate includes ensuring that veterinary drugs sold in Canada are safe and effective for animals and that the foods derived from animals treated with those drugs are safe. HPFB also promotes the health and well being of Canadians through a broad range of activities relating to health products and food, including developing nutrition policies and standards such as Canada's Food Guide to Healthy Eating.

Your safety, our priority

HPFB strives to maintain a balance between the potential benefits and risks of all health products. Our highest priority in determining the balance is public safety. Before any health product or veterinary drug is authorized for sale in Canada, the manufacturer must provide HPFB with substantive scientific evidence of its safety, efficacy and quality. Highly skilled HPFB scientists review this evidence carefully to determine whether the potential risks from the health product are acceptable when balanced against the positive effects.

HPFB takes a similar approach to food. All food and food products destined for human consumption in Canada must meet strict safety and nutrition quality standards set by HPFB before they can be approved for sale.

Maintaining post-market safety

These high standards also apply to health products that have reached the Canadian market. HPFB monitors all health products available for sale in Canada for compliance with manufacturing, advertising and labelling regulations and guidelines, and monitors expected and unexpected health risks such as adverse reactions to drugs. The Branch also assesses the effectiveness of the activities of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency that are related to food safety.

The health of Canadians is safeguarded through activities such as releasing public advisories and warnings on foods, drugs, medical devices and natural health products, and by providing information and policies in such areas as genetically modified foods and nutrition labelling.

Healthy choices

Through advisory services such as It's Your Health, Canada's Food Guide to Healthy Eating and the Canadian Nutrient File, HPFB strives to be a trusted source of health information so Canadians can make informed decisions about their nutrition and health.

Earning trust and confidence

HPFB is committed to being transparent, open and accountable to Canadians. Performance targets, safety measures and results are documented in the Branch strategic plan and the annual performance report. A variety of consultation programs offer Canadians opportunities to contribute to decisions about the health products and food they use every day.

Our commitment to Canadians

In all its activities, from regulatory affairs to policy development, from compliance monitoring to engaging other governments at home and abroad, Health Canada stands firm in its commitment to the health of all Canadians. Through strict regulations and consistent high standards, HPFB supports Health Canada's goal to provide Canadians with timely access to safe, effective, high quality health products, food, and the information they need to maintain and improve their health.

Health Canada
Health Products and Food Branch
250 Lanark Avenue
Graham Spry Building
Address Locator: 2005A
Ottawa ON K1A 0K9
Telephone: 613-957-1806
Facsimile: 613-954-3957
Email: hpfb-dgpsa@hc-sc.gc.ca
Web site: www.healthcanada.gc.ca/hpfb