food preparation methods. Ancillary tothe food preparation area is the sensoryevaluation laboratory with taste panelfacilities. Trained panelists are used toevaluate food flavour, color and textureassociated with product/process modifi­cations or development projects.

III. Pilot Plant Process Development

The pilot plant area consists of fourseparate areas - a registered FederalHealth. of Animals meat processingarea, wet process, dry process and fineparticulate area. Pilot plant equipmentcan provide simulation of industrialproduction processes to assess andevaluate product or process perfor­mance. Processing problems or devia­tions in product quality may be identi­fied and corrective measures institutedprior to commercial scale operations.

The pilot plant is equipped with awide range of process equipment tofacilitate a degree of flexibility of unitoperations common to all commercialfood processing system. The followingcapabilities are available to the foodprocessor: size reduction, separation,heat transfer, concentration, smoking,freezing, mixing and packaging. Equip­ment can be integrated to accommodatecontinuous or batch processes.

The pilot plant is available to foodprocessors, industrial or commoditygroups, university researchers, federalor provincial agricultural personnel andequipment, ingredient or packagingsuppliers who wish to demonstratetheir products.

Food Processing Development Centre

xvi / Affaires de l'Institut

The Centre is staffed by five foodspecialists who have a broad range ofindustrial and food research experience.At present the staff currently provideservices in the areas of new productdevelopment, innovative process/tech­nology applications, industrial processstart-up or modification and technologytransfer.

Industrial clients are encouraged toprovide personnel for extended or com­plex projects. Results remain theproperty of the client and are kept con­fidential. Further information can beobtained by contacting:

Dr. David J. SchroderFood Processing DevelopmentCentre, Alberta AgricultureP.O. Box 1217Leduc, AlbertaT9E 2Y7Telephone: (403) 986-4793Telex: 037-3308

Regulatory

Herbs and BotannicalPreparations

Throughout history, herbs and botan­ical preparations have been used asfoods or food ingredients and, becauseof the presence of pharmacologicallyactive components, many have alsofound use in the treatment of certainmedical conditions. However, the cor­rect use of herbs and botanical prepa­rations is essential to ensure personalsafety.

While the majority of herbs may besold as foods, there remains a small per­centage of such substances which areinappropriate for use as foods becauseof the preseI)ce of potentially toxic com­ponents. The fact that herbs are naturalproducts does not mean that they allmay be used indiscriminately withoutany possibility of harm. Because ofthese safety considerations, certainadjustments to regulatory controlmechanisms for these particular sub­stances may be necessary. This involvesthe classification of such herbs andbotanical substances into two categoriesin addition to those which may be soldin an unrestricted manner.

The first category would includethose substances which warrant somerestriction on their use but which maybe sold as foods providing that theproduct carries an appropriate labelstatement. The second category would

list substances containing toxic compo­nents of sufficient concerns to warranttheir possible classification as adulter­ants and their consequent prohibitionfor sale as foods or food ingredients.

The health Protection Branch intendsto establish an expert advisory commit­tee on herbs and botanical preparationsunder the conditions stated in Informa­tion Letter No. 598 to assist in refiningthe regulatory concepts outlined above.

The committee will be asked toreview the available information andprovide advice respecting:1. Assessment of the dimension of the

safety concerns associated with thesale of herbs and botanical prepara­tions as foods.

2. Development of the two categoriesof herbs and botanical preparationsfor the purpose of providing a com­prehensive listing and for a range ofregulatory control mechanisms.

To comply with the conditions forestablishing an expert advisory commit­tee, interested parties are invited tomake written representations to theHealth Protection Branch on the aboveissues being referred to the committee.The representations must be madewithin 90 days of the date of publica­tion of this Information Letter. Theserepresentations should be factual andnon-argumentative and must be accom­panied by a concise summary. They willform part of the information base to bereviewed by the committee. Allrepresentations on this issue should beaddressed to:

Chief, Food Regulatory AffairsDivision,

Food Directorate,Health Protection Branch,Department of National Health

and Welfare,OTTAWA, OntarioKIA OL2Telephone: (613) 990-8874

Comments that are received will besummarized and published in a subse­quent Information Letter. Commentswill not be attributed to the contribu­tor unless the Branch is requested inwriting to do so. If copies of specificcomments and names of contributorsare requested under Access to Informa­tion, personal information will be pro­tected in accordance with the PrivacyAct and remaining parts of the recordwill be subject to the provisions of theAccess to Information Act. Contributorsare requested to identify trade secret,proprietal, commercial and other con­fidential information in submissions inorder to avoid errors when commentsare reviewed for possible disclosure.Correspondence intended as private orconfidential must be marked as such.

J. lnst. Can. Sci. Technol. Aliment. Vol. 18, No. I. 1985