Good morning, Madam Chair and honourable members. Thank you for giving us the opportunity to come before the committee today to discuss Health Canada's recent authorization of the broader use of caffeine as a food additive in carbonated soft drinks.
As a food safety regulator, Health Canada is responsible for setting regulations, policies, and guidelines that help ensure the safety of Canada's food supply. The Food and Drug Regulations require certain substances used in food, such as food additives, to undergo a thorough safety and efficacy assessment before they can be added to foods allowed for sale in Canada.
It is only when Health Canada scientists are satisfied that food additives would not pose a risk to Canadians' health that Health Canada would recommend their use under specified conditions.
In parallel, the Department aims at providing Canadian consumers with the information they need to follow a balanced diet and make healthy food choices as part of its mandate to protect and maintain the health of Canadians.
Synthetic forms of caffeine used in some carbonated drinks are regulated as a food additive under the Food and Drug Regulations. This means that a new use would require a submission made to Health Canada and a thorough safety assessment by Health Canada scientists before it is permitted.
Until recently, synthetic caffeine could only be added to cola-type beverages up to a maximum of 200 mg/Litre under the Food and Drug Regulations.
Due to a number of food additive submissions received by Health Canada for the expansion of use of synthetic caffeine to non-cola soft drinks, Health Canada conducted a detailed safety assessment of caffeine in carbonated soft drinks. This assessment took several years and concluded that expanding the permitted use of caffeine as a food additive to non-cola carbonated soft drinks up to a maximum of 150 milligrams per litre would not pose a health risk to consumers.
In reviewing these food additive submissions, Health Canada scientists conducted a thorough assessment of the possible toxicological effects of caffeine as well as the various exposure scenarios that correspond to the Canadian context.
The toxicological assessment confirmed that caffeine exhibits a number of biological effects resulting from its diuretic and stimulant properties. Scientific research also has shown that some sensitive individuals experience side effects such as insomnia, headaches, irritability, and nervousness. These effects are, however, transient and would cease when caffeine consumption is stopped.
As a result of this assessment, Health Canada scientists established that the average adult can consume as much as 400 milligrams of caffeine per day without any adverse health effects. This would equate to approximately three to five cups of coffee per day--again, depending on the way it is made or brewed--or about eight cans of cola or diet cola per day--again, not that Health Canada would recommend that level of consumption of this type of beverage.
Health Canada's evaluation has also determined that children, adolescents and women of childbearing age may be at greater risk from caffeine intake. As a result, Health Canada developed specific recommendations for these individuals.
Our scientists continue to review new research findings to ensure that recommended daily caffeine intake levels are based on the results of the most up-to-date scientific evidence.
On the labelling front, it is currently a regulatory requirement for the label on most prepackaged foods to declare a list of ingredients, including food additives such as caffeine, in descending order of proportion. However, there is no regulatory provision for mandatory quantitative labelling of caffeine, that is, the number of milligrams of caffeine per stated serving size.
To mitigate any confusion this expanded use could create among consumers and to provide Canadian consumers with tools to enable them to make informed choices, Health Canada has recently issued a guidance document requesting that food manufacturers indicate on product labels the total caffeine from all sources that is contained in a product.
Quantitative labelling of caffeine--