Food Regulatory Program

The Food Regulatory Program of the Bureau of Regulatory, International and Interagency Affairs supports all evaluation, risk assessment and risk management projects of the Food Programme which result in regulatory amendments to Part B of the Canadian Food and Drug Regulations to ensure the safety and nutritional quality of the Canadian food supply.

The Food Regulatory Program establishes and coordinates, in collaboration with other bureaus of the Food Programme, all food regulatory plans developed by Health Canada to ensure food safety to be included in the annual Federal Government Report on Plans and Priorities. The Food Regulatory Program supports the secretariat of the Food Rulings Committee of the Food Programme, a management committee that endorses regulatory and policy developments related to food safety and nutritional quality. Regulatory initiatives developed by the Food Programme must meet all requirements and priorities established by the Health Canada Regulatory Planning Process and follow the criteria and guiding principles of the Food Programme Strategic Framework.

Further to the development of regulatory initiatives, the Food Regulatory Program is directly involved in the drafting and promulgation of regulatory amendments in accordance with the most recent Federal Regulatory Policy and Process Management Standards. Also included is the responsibility to inform all officers of the Food Programme on any specific updates on the Federal Regulatory Policy and its related requirements. The Food Regulatory Program coordinate responses to all requests for corrections to Part B of the Food and Drug Regulations identified by the Senate Standing Committee on the Scrutiny of the Regulations. The Food Regulatory Program prepares the annual updates and publications of the Consolidated Version of the Food and Drugs Act and Regulations following the promulgation of regulatory amendments on food safety initiatives and regulations enacted by the Therapeutic Products Programme published in the Canada Gazette, Part II, during the calendar year.