ARCHIVED - Caffeine - Letter to Stakeholders

Bureau of Chemical Safety
251 Sir Frederick Banting Driveway
Tunney's Pasture, Postal Locator: 2203B
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0K9

March 19, 2010.

Subject: Health Canada Issues an Interim Marketing Authorization and Voluntary Guidelines to Industry on the Labelling of Caffeine Content in Prepackaged Foods [March 2010].

Dear Stakeholder / Consumer,

The Food Directorate would like to inform you that Health Canada has issued an Interim Marketing Authorization (IMA) that expands the permitted use of caffeine and caffeine citrate as food additives from cola-type beverages to all carbonated soft drinks at a maximum level of 150ppm. In conjunction with the issuance of the IMA, Health Canada is urging the food industry to go beyond current food additive labelling requirements (i.e., mandatory declaration of caffeine in the list of ingredients) and voluntarily identify on product labels the total caffeine contained in a product from both natural ingredients such as guarana and from caffeine's direct addition as a food additive. Health Canada is also asking industry to identify the presence of caffeine on the front of package labelling of newly caffeinated beverage formulations. The front of packaging labelling will help consumers to clearly identify those products whose formulations now contain caffeine but which were previously commonly recognised as a non-caffeinated product.

To assist food manufacturers and to ensure that there is consistency among manufacturers when voluntary labelling the caffeine content of foods, Health Canada has published on its website a preliminary guidance document on the labelling of caffeine content in prepackaged foods.

The Food Directorate is open to receiving comments and feedback from both industry and consumers on these preliminary guidelines. Comments may be submitted in writing, either electronically or by regular mail. If you are submitting your comments electronically, please use the word "Caffeine Labelling" in the subject box of your e-mail.

Mailing address:
Health Canada
Bureau of Chemical Safety
Tunney's Pasture, Postal Locator: 2203B
251 Sir Frederick Banting Driveway
Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0L2

E-mail address:
bcs-bipc@hc-sc.gc.ca

Yours sincerely,

Bureau of Chemical Safety
Food Directorate

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