Amendments to the Food and DrugRegulations, dated 9 April, 1975

The proposed amendments in schedule no. 295 have been made toIbe food and Drug Regulations. The changes include:

I. A change that allows the use of sorbic acid salts in the preparationof olives (B.II.050).

2. A change to the flour enrichment regulations which allows chalk(8 P.) to be used as a source of calcium (B. 13.002).

. 3. Changes to Division 14. Meat, its Preparation and Products.(a) Spices or seasonings for preserved meats, pickling salts and Class

I preservatives for cured meats must have the nitrate or nitrite salts pack­aged separately (B.l4.007, B.14.009).

(b) The label on curing mixtures must include directions for use,Ibat, when followed, will produce a food that complies with the regu­lations for amounts of filler and food additives (B.14.008).

4. Changes to food additive regulations concerning the amounts ofnitrate and nitrite salts in preserved meats and preserved meat by-prod­ucts. The new regulations limit the amount of nitrate and nitrite used(prior to smoking, cooking or fermentation) rather than the maximumlevels in the final product. In the previous regulations it was quite clearthat the final product should not contain nitrate and nitrite in excess of200 p.p.m. In the amended regulations it appears that 200 p.p.m. potas­sium nitrate and 200 p.p.m. sodium nitrate may be used in the raw prod­uct, and similarly 200 p.p.m. of each of potassium and sodium nitrite, ex­cept in side bacon, in which only 150 p.p.m. of each salt may be used.Note: This would be contrary to the intent of the changes in the regu­lations, i.e. that use levels and residues of nitrite in processed meats be re­duced, and as a result requires clarification by the Health ProtectionBranch.

5. Changes to food additive regulations allowing olive brine to con­tain 300 p.p.m. sorbate, calculated as sorbic acid.

Proposed Regulations concerning Food PackagingMaterials containing Vinyl Chloride.

On May 9, 1975, the Health Protection Branch issued InformationLetter No. 439. This concerns polyvinylchloride packaging materials, andproposes to control the use of such plastics that contain the vinyl chloridemonomer. The residual vinyl chloride monomers have been shown topersist in the plastic and subsequently to transfer to foods packagedtherein. I.L. No. 439 proposes to amend Division 23 of the Food andDrug Regulations prohibiting the sale of food in packages that may yieldvinyl chloride to its contents.

Comments to this proposal were called for by June 9, 1975.Actionable Level for AOatoxins

Effective April I, 1975, the actionable level for aflatoxin in nuts andnut products was reduced from 20 p.p.b. to 15 p.p.b., at the manufac­turing level (I.L. No. 433, dated January 10, 1975).(Note: for reading on fungal metabolites, a valuable review of "FungusMetabolites Toxic to Animals" was written by Chester J. Mirocha andClyde M. Christensen and published in the Annual Reviews of Phyto­pathology volume 12, pages 303-330, 1974.)

Proposed revision to Division 16Table V (Food Enzymes)

On June 17, 1975 the Health Protection Branch issued InformationLetter No. 442. This refers to the amendment and revision of the sectionon "Food Additives that may be used as Food Enzymes." The HealthProtection Branch intends that this section should more accurately reflectpublic health concerns and current industrial practices. In addition, it isproposed that a general standard for enzyme preparations be established.ThIs will include acceptable carriers, diluents, buffering agents etc., aswell as microbiological specifications.

Food manufacturers, enzyme suppliers and other interested groupsare requested to submit information dealing with enzymes used in, orproposed for, the food industry, to the Health Protection Branch. Data~ealing with manufacture, specifications and proposed uses of immobi­lized enzyme preparations are also requested.

Comments are requested by December 17, 1975.-30­

NUTRITION CANADA PUBLICATIONSThe initial publication of the Nutrition Canada National Survey re­

port was published in November, 1973. The second stage reports, includ­Ing the to Provincial reports and in-depth reports on the nutritional statusof Indians and Eskimos have now been published. A summary was pub­lished in the H.P.B. Dispatch # 37 and includes the following:

I. WEIGHT - the main nutritional problem of adult Canadians ingeneral is overweight - no apparent differences between Provinces.

Can. Inst. Food Sci. Technol. J. Vol. 8, No.3, 1975

2. IRON - the marginal or inadequate iron levels in women, ado­lescents, infants and children applies across Canada, yet the incidence ofiron deficiency anaemia is low - again no differences between Provinces.

3. CALCIUM AND VITAMIN D - differences between provinceswere observed, which were attributed to differences in milk consumption.Calcium intakes of some groups in Newfoundland are the highest in Can­ada, partly attributable to the mandatory fortification of flour with cal­cium in that Province.

4. IODINE - significant regional variations in the incidence of thy­roid enlargement were observed. In the prairie provinces, British Colum­bia and Newfoundland, goitre is evident in all groups beyond pre-schoolage.

The Indian and Eskimo reports revealed that Indian people share thegeneral population's overweight problem, and both Indians and Eskimoshave low iron stores. The Indians and Eskimos have additional nutri­tional problems not apparent in the other Canadians studied. includinglow Vitamin D intake, poor Vitamin C status, and low Vitamin A intake.

According to the H.P.B. Dispatch, steps have already been taken tointroduce legislation designed to enrich selected foodstuffs, and to gener­ate nutrition education programs which will acquaint Canadians withtheir nutritional needs.Comment: The to Provincial reports and the Indian and Eskimo reportswere received with little or no fanfare. The long delay between the Na­tional Survey report and these reports allowed Nutrition Canada to slipaway from its headline position. Except for Calcium/Vitamin D and Io­dine, the H.P.B. Dispatch summary found little comment for differencesbetween Provincial populations. However, some marked differences werenoted between the general population and the Indian and Eskimo popu­lations.

The apparent lack of interest in the Provincial reports is reason forconcern. The fact that these reports tended to repeat the general surveyresults for each Province might account for the lack of attention by thenews media. Although the reports may be useful documents for Provin­cial nutritionists and nutrition educators, it seems that there are preciousfew of these people around! So far the Nutrition Canada survey hasshown us that instances of poor nutrition exist in Canada where, with ourexcellent food supply, this should not be the case.

In general, clinical cases of nutrition deficiency diseases were not ob­served among Canadians. Certain groups were considered to be "at risk".No one seems to be dying of nutritional deficiency diseases. Or are they?In conversation with nutritionists about Nutrition Canada, great concernwas expressed about the "overweight" population. To nutritionists, over­weight represents a serious problem for the health of Canadians. Formany of us, to to 20 lb (5 to to kg, it sounds even less threatening in met­ric) overweight does not create a real feeling of concern. But within thefood industry, perhaps it should! How many of the excess calories con­sumed by Canadians result from unncessary calories in manufacturedfoods? It seems that the food industry has a moral commitment to theconsumer in deciding the amount of fat or carbohydrates that will be in­corporated into a food product.

Messages for consumers and the food industry do not seem to beforthcoming from Nutrition Canada survey results th us far. Perhaps theeating habit and anthropometric reports will give more impetus to the nu­tritional needs of Canadians. The present data in the Nutrition Canadareports have been presented nationally and provincially according to ageand sex of the respondent. Compared to the Indian and Eskimo reports,nothing very dramatic is being revealed, beyond overweight which mostof us disregard, because we equate overweight with obese, which is incor­rect. Is Nutrition Canada reporting the data in the most meaningful way?Age and sex differences represent different nutritional needs that are tra­ditionally identifiable. Aren't there other sociological parameters thatmight give more meaningful indicators of nutritional deficiency, for ex­ample, income level? Are families who are living at or below the povertyline experiencing greater risk than higher income families? Are high in­come families more at risk from overweight than low income families?

To lose the effect of Nutrition Canada in gaining government, indus­try and consumer support for improved nutrition, and therefore pre­ventive medicine, would be a tragic day for Canadians. It can only behoped that the eating habit and anthropometric reports will not be aslong delayed as the initial and second stage reports. Further, it is a sincerewish that the proposed legislation and nutrition education programs re­ferred to in H.P.B. Dispatch #37 will not be delayed and will have ade­quate support - financial and professional.

M.E.S.

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