For Immediate Release:
June 13, 2001
For more information:
Bill Jeffery
(613)565-2140
Related Links:
Key Developments in CSPI's mandatory nutrition labelling campaign
(in English) or (en français)
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Health Canada to Unveil New Nutrition Label,
Health Claim Rules for Foods |
OTTAWA (June 13, 2001) — Health Canada plans to publish, this Saturday June 16, 2001, proposed
regulatory amendments making sweeping changes to food labelling. The amendments will:
- Require food manufacturers to disclose comprehensive nutrition information on practically all
food labels;
- Establish eligibility criteria for manufacturers to make health claims on food labels; and
- Tighten rules for making nutrient content claims on labels.
This week’s edition of the official government publication, Canada Gazette Part I, will
formalize the new plans for food labelling that were announced by Minister of Health Allan Rock last
October shortly before the federal election was called. After 2 p.m. on Saturday, the full text of the
proposed amendments can be viewed on the Internet at:
http://www.canada.gc.ca/gazette/gazette_e.html.
The Ottawa office of the Centre for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) waged a vigorous four
year campaign urging Parliament and Health Canada to establish rules requiring nutrition labelling on
all foods sold in Canadian retail stores and to set strict standards preventing the misleading use of
health-related marketing claims for foods. To aid its efforts, CSPI assembled a coalition of 17 non-profit groups — the Alliance for Food Label Reform — which pressured the government to act. The
coalition represents 2 million Canadian consumers, scientists, physicians, nutritionists, and other health
professionals.
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